Tabascos Are For The Birds!

   The growing of any kind of hot peppers is something of a novelty for me.  I dehydrate them and use them occasionally...mainly in my herbal cure-all better known as the Bayou Fire.  Yep, the name says it all.  Still, I have no need for buckets of the things.  Obviously, the plants deemed it necessary to provide me with buckets full, regardless of the lack of a need.  A few weeks ago, the scotch bonnets were in full swing and I had to pick hundreds of those plump rascals.  Now, I have jars and jars of dehydrated peppers lining the shelves.  If I have get a hankering for some really hot dish, I have the means to spice it up a bit.

  That was all fine and dandy but now the tabasco pepper (yes, pepper as in single plant) has decided not to be outdone in the production of tiny peppers.  That single plant has over 500 peppers on it!  The only problem is that the sun has not shone for the past ten days so the peppers are not ripening. They are staying pale yellow instead of the fiery red that is desired.  The few that do ripen are snatched up by the birds!  It seems that the mockingbirds love hot peppers!  We had this same problem about 10 years ago.  Mockingbirds started visiting the gardens and picked every pepper that ripened.  At that time, I found it amusing.  I still do.  How in the world can those birds eat hot peppers one after another without setting their mouths on fire??  Tough birds!

  Both types of peppers are growing on plants that were in last year's garden. Last October, I dug the plants and stuck them in the greenhouse where they stayed for the entire winter.  They were plopped back into the ground in the spring and have grown with a fury.  The tabasco pepper is nigh on 4ft tall and is intertwined with the four-o'clock plants.  (Neither of these were supposed to get this big but something happened!)  I am tempted to pick about 100 of the tabasco peppers to see if they will ripen indoors.  If they do, they, along with more scotch bonnets, will be dried.  I sure hope somebody comes along and wants some of these things.  Otherwise, I may just have to start canning hot sauce!  Hmm, now there is an idea!

New Home For The Mockingbird Family

   Spring must be here, at least, according to the birds and other critters.  Nest building is in full swing with the songbirds.  Both hanging baskets of ferns have nests (one with a wren and the other with a dove) and, today, I watched as the mockingbird scoped out the jasmine vine as a possible site.  She must have approved the chosen spot because it was not long before the birds started bringing in twigs.  Unlike the dove in the fern, the mockingbirds make incredibly sturdy nests and the jasmine vines will provide a good bit of protection from the elements.  Some predators such as snakes can still access her nest but mockingbirds are well known as fierce defenders of their homes.  These birds can be quite feisty!

  I suppose it is because I spend so much time in the Small Gardens that the critters who visit have no fear of me.  This pair of mockingbirds often seem to crave the attention that I give them.  Yes, I talk to my birds especially now that I have no domesticated pets.  The wild critters are substituting as my pets now and are subject to the same attention that I plied to my dogs and cats.  The female mockingbird will often come sit by me as I rest from doing chores.   It is not uncommon to find her just a few feet from me.  She cocks her head to the side as I speak and will edge nearer and nearer until she is just inches away.  We will stay that way for the entire time I rest.  Then, as I rise to go back to work, she stares at me as if I am not supposed to leave her.  If I am working in the plants, she often comes to seek out any flushed bugs.  She and the mama wren work the gardens for their meals!

  The birds are welcome to taste the veggies or fruits occasionally in return for their constant bug vigil.  A few nips out of a tomato or peach is well worth the free pest control service they provide.  It is nice to live in harmony with those around you.  To bad humans cannot do that with each other.  Life is good here on the Bayou.  Life is good.

  

Can You Help Me? I Seem To Have Misplaced My Home.

  With spring comes the anticipation of new arrivals.  The Bayou is bustling with nest building, den digging and hive construction.  Many of the critters were a tad confused and got an early jump on this family thing.  Some youngsters are already old enough to leave home and be on their own.  The parents are already contemplating whether to build a new abode or reconstruct the previous one.  This nest-building has become quite the dilemma for one pair of birds.  Since I removed the wisteria arbor near the Frog Pond, a resident pair of mockingbirds seem to be flummoxed as to what they should be doing.  The male bird follows me around the garden as if to think I can magically bring back the arbor. The female sits idly atop the shed roof hoping that the arbor will reappear.  They have yet to start the chore of building that home for their future little ones. I had no idea that I created such a problem for my friends.

  A few days ago, Papa Mockingbird followed me all the way down to the pier. Once there, he fussed and squabbled with a rival male whose wifey was nesting in the small bay tree. Papa Mockingbird number one, had no intention of intruding on the other's territory, he was just wanting his arbor and was going to follow me until I relented.  Sorry, bird, it ain't gonna happen.  That arbor is long gone!

  Hopefully, the pair of mockingbirds will soon realize that something is amiss with their waiting game and will settle upon a new nest site.  With all of the trees, other arbors and shrubbery about the place, who knew that removing one arbor would create such havoc?  

Life Giving Rain...Even If It Is Fake

  After a summer of nigh on daily rain, fall has come with a severe drought.  The fall garden was delayed for some time now but is finally planted.  After clearing the boxes of dead plants and planting the new ones, I figured the sprinkler could do its work.  The new little cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and collard green plants would appreciate a good soaking to get them started.  I had no idea who else would be thankful for the artificial rain.

  The sprinkler was not on for five minutes before several visitors came to visit and take advantage of the nice shower.  Thrashers and mockingbirds flew into the garden and started singing while showering. While the mockingbirds stayed high on the arbor, the thrashers kept well hidden under the overhanging roses.  Once the baths were finished, all of the birds started sipping the droplets of fresh, clean water from the leaves.  They truly seemed happy!

  The birdbaths were immediately cleaned and filled and several pans of fresh water were set out on the ground for other critters.  It is easy to forget about our animal friends' needs during times like this.  A shallow pan of clean water can make life a bit easier for so many wild animals. Watching the birds today made me realize that I have been negligent in helping the critters.  Since I had stopped filling the feeders due to the Cooper's Hawk making meals of my fine feathered friends, the birdbath had also sat empty.  The poor birds struggled to find fresh water and had resorted to using the brackish water in the Bayou.  This was probably not the tastiest of treats.  I promised my critter friends that I would be more attentive in the future.

That did not go as planned.

  There are times in life when things just don't go as planned.  To (mis)quote Robert Burns "The best laid schemes of mice and men, often go awry."  This, it seems, also pertains to birds.  No matter how well things are laid out in order to build the perfect nest, to lay those perfect eggs and hatch said perfect eggs, things can go wrong.....oh, so terribly wrong.  

  The pair of mockingbirds (that decided to put the chickadees out of their cozy nesting box) met such a moment of things going awry today. Their nest atop of the rose arbor did seem to be the perfect homesite. The sharp thorns of the roses made a thatched roof above Mama Mockingbird as she sat on the five blotchy blue eggs.  By my calculations, yesterday should have been hatching day for the eggs. The world seemed perfect from most aspects...that is, until this morning.  At daybreak, I heard the the pair of mockingbirds fussing at something.  I did not think too much of this since they have a tendency to fuss at Ms. Nycto, the princess cat whenever she walks under their nest.  Perhaps I should have taken notice but, then again, perhaps I should not mess with the course of nature.  The birds' anxiety was not on account of Nycto but rather a hawk.  The small Cooper's Hawk raided the nest. Mama Mockingbird met her demise as she tried to shield her little ones.  The hawk made quick work of her and once she could no longer defend the helpless little ones, they were devoured on site.  Her limp body was carted off to the hawk's nest where she became food for its little brood.  That circle of life was in full swing this morning.

  I am saddened by the loss of Mama Mockingbird and the little ones.  I do believe that she was one of the orphans that I raised a few years back.  She was just too tame not to be.  But, as I have said before, Karma has a way of biting back at those who treat others unjustly.  As much as I love the mockingbirds, they set themselves up for this loss by ousting the chickadees from their nesting site.  There is plenty of room around the Bayou for all to have cozy nests. Now this nest sits empty save for a few bits of fluff.  Those are the remains of the tiny birds.  Now the arbor sits empty of either nest....mockingbirds or chickadees.  Sad.

Just in the neighborhood...

  A while back, I bought a birdhouse from from a senior citizens' group that was having a garage sale as a fund raiser.  I was oddly drawn to this particular house even though others were much prettier and much better constructed.  After questioning, I found that the house had been made by an elderly gentleman and his seven year old grandson had painted it.  This bit of news made me love the birdhouse all the more.  It is not every day that you can get your hands on such a special piece of yard art!  Once we got the thing home, Mark helped me to poke it on top of the rose arbor.  There it sat for the entire summer, then on through the fall and even winter.  I did not expect any visitors at those time so this did not bother me.  Now that spring is here, I was elated to see two little visitors investigating the house.

  A pair of chickadees darted in and out of the tiny doorway of the house.  For two days, they did nothing more than check the surroundings and the interior of the house.  Then, on the third day, I noticed that the birds were bringing twigs and straws into the house. The sweet little pair had decided that this would be their home.  For the past three mornings, I have watched the birds as they worked.  Not wanting to scare them, I kept my distance and let them build in peace.

  This afternoon, I took a hike through the garden and under the arbor.  I could hear scratching inside the birdhouse but did not see the birds. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a fluttering of wings.  Uh, oh!  That bird was a bit large to be a chickadee!  I stood still and stared into the rose vines.  Sure enough, a much larger bird was bustling about just a few inches from the house.  Well, my goodness!  A pair of mockingbirds was making a nest just behind the birdhouse!  In fact, the side of the nest actually butted up against the back of the house.  Well, that is interesting!  I have never seen two families of birds build right next door to each other!  I wonder how this is going to work?  Will the birds become enemies or will they both raise their broods side by side? This, my friends, should prove to be quite interesting!  I will be carefully watching the outcome of this birdie neighborhood with adjoining nests!

Mockingbird Diner

Once again at daybreak,  I was on the back deck of my son and daughter-in-law's lovely home.  In the semi-wooded area directly behind the back fence, there is a tree that I cannot identify.  It is not highly important that I go around naming each and every tree that I find but this one is different.  Each morning just before the sun rises, mockingbirds start to flock toward the tree.  I counted thirty-one birds this morning..all mockingbirds!  I think every mockingbird in the state of Georgia descends upon the tree for breakfast. You see, this tree is covered with tiny, orange fruits and evidently the mockingbirds have taken a liking to this fruit for breakfast.

I took several pictures just to use as reference in the search for a name. I searched and searched but to no avail.  I have yet to identify the tree! I suppose that I should have gotten a tad closer to get better pictures but the tree stands in the midst of an underbrush thicket.  I was hesitant to go scrabbling about in the weeds and brush as I did not want to become the breakfast for a mess of ticks.  That would never do!  Anyway, each day that I have been here this week, the mockingbirds have come.  My idea is if I can identify this tree, perhaps I can integrate several around the Bayou.  Why, may you ask, would I plant more trees in the yard?  Well, my thinking is if the mockingbirds crave whatever this orange fruit is, perhaps they would leave my figs alone!

Just before we leave to head back to the Coast, I think I will try to snag a few of the little orange fruits!  Maybe I can find one that a mockingbird dropped so I do not have to weasel my way through the bushes!  The unidentified tree would look mighty nice down near the marsh!