One Smart Mama!

  Back behind the house near the canebrake, we have a dozen or so citrus trees.  In this small grove, there are two trees that were (at one time) lime trees.  One winter the icy weather froze the two lime trees and they died back to the ground.  I wanted to remove the dead trees but Son insisted that we "give them time".  The man has the patience of a saint and believes in giving everything time to thrive.  I begrudgingly agreed to leave the trees for three months but then, if they showed no signs of life, they were to be removed.  He was right.  The trees both came out from the roots and flourished but, instead of limes, they produced a weird fruit that seemed to be a cross between a lime and a lemon.  I had no problem with that as I like both.  The trees are now approximately ten feet in height and doing well but....they now have thorns...huge thorns...which brings me to the whole point of this story.

  Last week, while out trimming around the trees, I noticed that a pair of cardinals were busy nest-building in the lemon/lime tree.  The birds did not seem to mind me clearing the area so I continued my work and they snatched bits and pieces of twigs from my trash.   Now, Mama Cardinal is setting on her eggs in the beautifully made nest. Mama Cardinal is smart.  She usually nests in the Boysenberry vines but since they are sparse this year, she chose the thorny branches of this tree.  She is safe from most predators because of her choice of nesting sites.  Not many predatory mammals are going to risk being torn to shreds by the many long thorns.  With the thatching of thorns above her, it would be quite unusual for a hawk or crow to attempt raiding the nest.  The only predator that Mama Cardinal has to fear would be a snake.  Just like Mama, a snake could find its way between the thorns and make a raid on the eggs.  Papa Cardinal stays nearby and is always ready to defend his ladylove so, hopefully, this smart mama will be able to raise her little ones safely.