Critters In The Garden!

   While out working in the gardens this afternoon, I noticed that yet another of my critter friends came to visit.  This time, a mockingbird was my helper.  The bird was busying itself investigating the cabbages for worms.  Even though the birds scratch around in the mulch or sometimes cannot resist taking a nip out of the crops, I welcome birds into the garden.  These are free pest control and they fall under that category as being fully ecologically safe and organic!  In fact, there are very few critters that are not welcome around here.  

  I do have to wonder if it is possible that this is one of the mockingbirds that I raised after they were orphaned.  When I got the pair, they were so tiny that neither had much in the way of feathers and could do little more than flop around in the makeshift nest.  It was a daunting task to take on raising yet more critters and especially ones so tiny.  It became my duty to do round the clock feedings something I had not done in some 30 years at the time.  Happy to say, both birds survived and then adopted our old dog as their surrogate mom.  She was so very protective of her wards.  The birds flourished and I allowed them to come and go as they pleased for a while by keeping the screen door open.  Soon, they made their way to being "real" birds and joined their wild cousins.  Both did come back for a while to visit.  I would often find one clinging to the screen door wanting to come back inside the Little Bayou House.  Of course, they were welcome to enter and stay as long as they pleased.   Could this be Knox or Shelby?  Who knows?  I seriously doubt it but it is nice to think perhaps one or both are still around.  Regardless, the little mockingbird brought happiness to the day and I will take that!