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The Robin Diaries- Part 6

28 Jul

Speak Up Saturday

Patricia Franklin

Our yard is becoming popular real estate for birds now. Besides the two nests in the yard, some little red finches were inspecting our satellite dish. They did not come back though. I noticed a hummingbird sailing around in that heavy wind yesterday. I don’t know how they do it. I put out our hummingbird feeders now. They like zeriscape. After noticing that the robins really like the millers, which are migrating to the cool mountains now, I released a bunch of millers from under the BBQ cover and watched the robins catch them.

I was worried a couple of days ago about the robins. One got in a big fight with robins and neither of them would quit. They ended up chasing each other all around the neighborhood. Then I only saw one robin for the rest of the day. I kept watching and finally, just before I went into the house that night, I saw both of them at the nest again. That meant I could sleep without worrying about them. The same evening we took a walk around the block and ran into a neighbor we had never met before. He was coming out of the house with his son-in-law. We said hello and he told us he was going to show his son-in-law the robins. So of course, we inquired about it. He showed us a nest, and, surprise, they had all flown away. So the man ran into his house to get his camera and show us the close-ups he had taken of the three babies. I was excited to hear he was so interested in them. He said he had been off work, and so he watched them all week.

Frank sneaked a peek into our nest and said there was nothing there, but I know there is. They must have scrunched down. I said, “No more peeking in the nest.” I want to stay out of their way. I don’t want them getting anxious and leaving prematurely. They are still small. I have not heard them chirping yet, but the adult robins sit on the fence and sing to them so they will recognize their voices and learn how to chirp back.

Robin nest

Robin nest (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

 

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The Robin Diaries-Part Five

21 Jul

I am always thrilled with God’s timing. Patricia originally wrote the following paragraph  to close today’s post but in light of the tragedy in Colorado, I made an editorial decision to move it up and use it as an intro-Onisha

“With all the turmoil going on in the world, it is very refreshing for me to block it all out and concentrate on the simple, normal life of mother nature and her little critters. I am glad to know that I am not the only one. I know you enjoy it too, and my friend that was here this weekend actually set up a movie camera one year and took a movie of robins nesting in her yard. She let it run until the birds were gone.”

Speak Up Saturday

Patricia Franklin

After all the commotion yesterday, things have settled down today. We had a nice rain last night and I was out pulling weeds from my little garden today – about 10 feet away from the nest. The robins do not care. Neither are they bothered by any of the doves or other birds. In fact, they will get down on the grass and eat with the doves. The blackbirds are a different matter. They chase them away. The robin was loudly tweeting a warning last night, so I went out to see what was happening. Both robins were trying to chase a blackbird away. He finally landed on the fence, but would not leave, so I decided to offer my services and went out and chased him out of the yard.

Somewhere I heard that robins hear the movement of earthworms and that is how they find them. I don’t know if that is true, but I know they have good eyesight. Frank replaced a sprinkler yesterday and we had to dig up a lot of the grass. Any earthworms that I found, I tossed in the grass near the lilac bush. But, I found a huge cutworm and did not want it to get back in the grass, so I just put it on the edge of the patio where I was digging. I stopped working, went in and got a drink of water. Out the window, I saw a flutter of wings, and ran back out to discover the cutworm was gone, just like that.

Earthworms are a good example of soil-dwelling...

Earthworms are a good example of soil-dwelling detritivores (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Now as I am awaiting the robin family to appear in public, I have a ring necked dove who tried twice to put a nest on a bare limb, above the picnic table. Twice it blew away. Today when I went out, she had completed her nest and is now sitting on it. It is not much of a nest, but I will be watching her as well now. I don’t see how she can have room for an egg, let alone a baby bird, but we will see.

Robin nest

Robin nest (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn’t and doesn’t, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it’s sin versus grace, grace wins hands down. All sin can do is threaten us with death, and that’s the end of it. Grace because God is putting everything together again through the Messiah, invites us into life–a life that goes on and on and on, world without end.

Romans 5:20 The Message Bible

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The Robin Diaries- Part 4 Twittering and Tweeting

14 Jul

Speah Up Saturday

Patricia Franklin

 

This is the 20th day since the robins built their nest. The female has been sitting now for 10 days. She will leave for about 10 minutes or so, not much longer. Both of them watch the nest though. One day some blackbirds came along looking for seeds, etc. on the ground. The female was gone and the male came flying in and sat on the nest. The female came back a little while later and seemed surprised by his presence there. She immediately took off again for some more time by herself and he just stayed where he was. We have about 6 or 8″ of grass growing under the bush now, not to be mowed for another couple of weeks, or until the babies are gone. I’m pretty sure there are no babies yet. If there were, we would see a lot more feeding activity. We have been out working in our yard and garden just about two yards from the nest. They do not seem to worry about us. They will sit on the nest, fly in and out while we are there, or just sit on the fence, or look for bugs/worms in the grass.

Yesterday was the 14th day of sitting on the nest. We had company over the weekend, so did not have time for robins. However, I noticed yesterday both robins were eating a lot and taking turns flying back and forth to the nest. I believe we have some babies now! I have not heard any little peeps yet, but we are having some construction on our street and all I can hear are jack hammers, revving engines and beeping machines going in reverse. In addition, Frank is working outside sanding our windowsills with a power sander so he can repaint them. The poor little tykes are going to be deaf before they get a chance to hear the twittering and tweeting they should hear in a normal day. I sat out with a cup of coffee this morning and did see both adults on the edge of the nest taking turns feeding the unseen little mouths inside. Guess I will get a glass of ice tea and go see what is happening this afternoon. Maybe there will be a lull in the construction noise during their coffee break.

Mother Robin

Mother Robin (Photo credit: striderp64)

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The Robin Diaries- Part 3

30 Jun
Bird Nest

Bird Nest (Photo credit: Sikachu!)

Speak Up Saturday

Patricia Franklin

Well, it has been 8 days since I first saw the nest. At night, the robins are active and singing until after dark. The female will go sit on the nest and the male will be on a branch somewhere nearby. He will let her know if there is anyone or anything lurking around. Then they will call to each other – and a few neighboring robins (it seems) to say goodnight. It reminds me of the Waltons… Goodnight John Boy, Goodnight Elizabeth, Goodnight Grandpa!

We had quite a rain last night and there was little activity early today, but by noon both male and female were busily flying in and out of the nest. They do not leave it unattended. I have not been able to determine if they are just freshening it from the effects of wind and rain, or if the eggs have hatched (a little early I would think for that).

If they are like humans, the little ones come at the worst time (during a big storm). Our daughter was born around 8:00 pm on a night when there were so many babies that they put me in a linen closet, and no one found me until the shift change at 11:00. The startled nurse asked me if I was going to have a baby and I said I already did! Luckily I observed them putting bracelets on both of us, and I knew what she looked like, so we finally got together. Our son, was born on the night of a snowstorm and I just barely made it to the hospital.

Will keep an eye on the birds and let you know what comes next.

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Speak Up Saturday- The Robin Diaries Part 2

23 Jun
Robin nest

Robin nest (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Robin Diaries

 Patricia Franklin

I keep a watch out my kitchen window, but have only seen the robins in the early mornings flying in and out. I am puzzled because when I walk by the nest it is empty. They have a nice big deep nest, so maybe the eggs are in the bottom where they will stay warm without the parents. Or maybe she is hunkered down inside there too. Or maybe, I am thinking, she might be one of these modern mothers who can leave the nest during the day because she designed it so she doesn’t have to be there to sit on it all the time, but can be out running around like the modern mothers of today.

I know the dove surprised me last year with two beautiful babies one morning when they were fully grown. She sat on top of the nest so I could not see them. I wonder what will happen with the robins. My biggest fear is the neighbor’s big black cat that has caught some birds in my backyard before, will come after them. Maybe Frank will have to build a fence around the bush. I don’t think that will happen because he is not going to let a hay crop grow until they hatch as he did last year. He is cutting the lawn right now, so I better get out and guard my little flock while I can.

1 Corinthians 16:13

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Speak Up Saturday- The Robin Diaries Part 1

9 Jun

Patricia Franklin has written a lovely series following a Robin family. We are happy to share the series  with you on Speak Up Saturday.

The Robin Diaries Part 1

Patricia Franklin

I had to let you know about the incident with the robins today. I was sitting on the patio and the male and female were both out in the grass. She collected a mouthful of dry grass and flew up to the fence in front of me. She looked at me, but I think she is not afraid… maybe there is some female chemistry between the two of us. She saw me before and continued working without any fear. But the male who was getting a little anxious, flew down and was gently pecking her on the back to get her to move along. (I have never seen this happen before). She flew over towards the lilac bush but passed it by. She was not yet ready to fix up the nest. He pecked at her again and she flew down into the garden, gathered some more grass, then flew into the nest from the back side. I thought it was cute the way he was concerned about her and was trying to persuade her to get out of my way and get her job done. And she was letting him know she had things under control. I never thought the male would be as concerned about the little flock as the female… especially before it is a flock.

Matthew 6:26

 

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Speak Up Saturday- Psychological Soup Pot

26 May

The first time I heard about Charlene’s soup pot, I knew I wanted to share her wisdom with my friends. Many of us have been placed in a care-giver position and been overwhelmed with well meaning advice

My Blog Soup

 Charlene Spangler

Writing a blog has been simmering in my psychological soup pot for a few weeks now. My mom asked me to write about my coping soup. I developed this mental strategy when my father-in-law was diagnosed with terminal cancer. There was so much good advice and so many ideas coming at us with lightening speed, I quickly became overwhelmed.

When I tell people I will put their ideas or advice into my soup, what I mean is, “Thank you for your wonderful idea. I can’t respond right now because I’m on overload, so I will think on it for a while and see how I can incorporate your thoughtful tidbit”.

I have many pots of soup:.my home, family, job, tasks, and future. Each soup has its own base, stock, or broth. Ingredients and seasonings are added as they come along. My current home soup might be that the lawn needs to be replaced. That’s a big pot of soup. The ingredients are cost, time, design choices and such. Some ingredients, like choosing the type of grass, cook quickly like noodles and can come out of the pot in no time…That’s easy. There is only one type  of grass that will work for our yard. Other ingredients are, like carrots, tougher and take longer to cook. Do we save up (takes time) or borrow (costs more), which is best for us?

Just like mom’s chicken noodle soup, giving my coping soups some time and letting the ingredients blend and mature usually makes for a better outcome than trying to please everybody and respond immediately to all. It also makes people feel better for their ideas to be accepted even if they have to wait for results. Now my blog soup is done. I hope it tastes good.

Psalm 19:14

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Speak Up Saturday- I Learned Life Isn’t Fair

12 May

We  welcome author, Rebekah Lyn to Speak Out Saturday.  Rebekah has published her debut novel, Summer Storms and is almost ready to release Julianne, a novel set in coastal North Carolina.  Rebekah  has her own blog, Rebekah Lyn’s Kitchen but since she was busy editing and needed to rant we offered Speak Up Saturday as a quick vent.  A link to her blog is in the sidebar. So, Rebekah, rant away.

Driving around this weekend, I saw a bounce house in a backyard, presumably for a child’s birthday party.  It made me think about how things have changed since I was a kid. Growing up, we had birthday parties at Burger King or McDonald’s.  I remember wearing a paper crown and sitting in a booth with my friends.  Those were great parties.

As I continued driving in my nostalgic state, I noticed many of the houses had plastic play sets in place of the metal swing-sets I grew up with.  These play sets are fine I guess, but I feel bad for the kids who don’t have the chance to ride the glider, one kid on each side, pretending it was a horse.  I learned not to let my bare legs touch the slide after the first time I burned them on the metal that had been baking in the sun all day.

Sure some of the kids I grew up with had big wooden tree houses or forts, and I only had the rickety old metal swing set, but I had monkey bars, a slide, and swings.  I could climb up the support poles and make my way across the whole set without touching the ground.  I wasn’t scarred for life because some of my friends had nicer things than me.  I learned life isn’t fair, but it is what you make of it.  I’m glad I grew up in the time  I did; I had the chance to learn from my mistakes.

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Blackbirds, Mourning Doves, and Robins

5 May

We are delighted to have Patricia Franklin as our first contributor to Speak Up Saturday.

Patricia Franklin now lives not far from the small town in the shadow of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Colorado which was settled by her ancestors on both sides. She and her husband are Jeepers and researchers of family histories. She has three children and three grandchildren, and spends happy volunteer hours at a multi denominational shelter and charity center. While self-effacing and laid back, she has a brilliant mind and a feisty sense of humor. She’s a small woman, but coming from a family with five brothers she knows how to hold her own.

Blackbirds, Mourning Doves, and Robins

By Patricia Franklin

Blackbirds nested in our lilac bush one year. They hogged the bird bath and dropped trash in it. It was yucky. Last year we had mourning doves. They were quiet and clean, and we kept an eye on them until they hatched and fledged. This year the blackbirds returned, but we chased them away.

I’d been walking around the bush for a few days looking up in the branches to make sure the blackbirds didn’t come back, when suddenly I came face to face with a perfectly formed nest on a lower branch. I’m surprised I missed it, but that was because I looked way up, while this nest was at eye-level. As I watched, a mother robin flew in with something small in her beak to finish up a perfect nest. Now we have a robin’s nest in a location where I can see it from my patio or from my kitchen window. I’m thrilled.

The mama robin is around every morning, but when I go out, I can’t see anything. Because the nest is wide and deep I wonder whether the eggs are in the bottom where they can stay warm without her. Or maybe she’s hunkered down in there too. I don’t know, it’s a mystery.

My biggest fear is of the neighbor’s black cat. He snatches birds right out of our backyard. Maybe my husband will build a fence around the nest. No, that’s not going to happen. Last year he was forced to let a hay crop grow under the bush so the birds wouldn’t be disturbed. He didn’t much like that. Yikes, I can hear him cutting the lawn now. I’d better get out there and guard my little flock while I can.

Bird Nest

Bird Nest (Photo credit: Sikachu!)

Speak Up Saturdays

4 May

We have decided to open our blog on Saturdays to writers who have something they would like to say. It can be an interesting story, a bit of whimsy, advice or poetry, it can even be a rant. For the moment it will be called Speak Up  Saturday. If you would like to speak up you can tweet me @onisha, @silly girl or comment on the blog. This Saturday will be a life long friend of DiVoran’s Patricia Franklin. Stop by in  the morning and see what she has to say.

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