We bought a new
"Spring Banner"
for our back porch.
Audubon's Nesting Robin
Well, it is more than a spring banner, it seems to be the equivalent of Motel 6's "We'll leave the light on for you."
The trouble all started last week. I have a twig wreath on the back door. We often have a nesting bird in it. Not a big deal, we go in and out the kitchen door for a few weeks, happily watch the progression from egg to fledgling from the utility room, and when it is all over---wash both wreath and door in bleach. Lots of red finch and even on pair of cardinals have chosen the center of this wreath as good nesting territory. I agree. It is a nice place to raise a family; out of the wind and sheltered from the rain and it comes with two bird baths, a pond, bird feeder and various other natural bird designed plantings.
But last week a obsessive compulsive robin moved in ON TOP of the wreath. She is pretty large, I guess she thought she couldn't fit in the center. I thought OK, she is on top shouldn't be that bad, but being on top must not be as easy to secure a nest as soon she started spitting out a little mud to stick the nest also to the door. I was still OK. Within a day, she soon revealed herself as the messiest bird in the world. I swear she is dragging whole bales of hay onto the porch. Some clumps of grass were used on the nest but large piles draped down the wreath, lay on the floor and fold over the porch railing. The porch was beginning to look more like a hay wagon when a string broke on a bail. I was still OK.
Then, the nest must have been done and it was time to mud. I missed the actual process but the product was unbelievable. The interior of the nest was pretty impressive. It looked like it had been coated evenly in chocolate. But the bird must have done the work with a shovel - the mud splattered most of my door, the door frame and the door sill.
I was done. It may be the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day but I can only do so much for the wildlife in my yard. The wreath came down. The door, door frame and door sill I washed in hot, soapy, bleachy water. I slept better that night.
The next day, she was back. Since the weather has been so nice, weeks ago Jeff set up most of our porch furniture and hung up the wall shelf that goes behind the love seat. The robin simply moved to the top of the wall shelf. Not only did she drag enough dry grass that I could have bedded down a cow, s/he or they, built
not one but three nests on top of the shelf. Dry grass draped down from the shelves like Spanish moss- the entire love seat was covered in stands. Do I have a gang of robins fighting for turf on my porch? Could it be a robin commune? Rachel helped me take down the shelf Monday night.
So, I look out Tuesday morning and this robin ( I am assuming it is the same one- arrogant, cocky, unreasonable, - think Tom Cruise as a bird) is strutting on the porch railing looking at me. I didn't notice until I went out to get the mail that all the "hay" is back on the porch and s/he is NOW trying to build a nest on top of the porch light. I have ripped it down so many times I don't even have the count anymore.
The robin is sitting on a Ginkgo tree limb right now, looking in at me in the kitchen. Pretty song, maybe she is a male? I have lots of nice trees-one would think she would give up. Other years, all the robins have just been happy in the trees. Obviously building nesting shelves will have to be in our future but where to put them is the problem. They are not going anywhere near my porch.
Some of the recipes just don't interest me. I am not fond of tough cuts of meat or lima beans and sometimes the ingredients are not available in FDL but a couple weeks ago the recipe emailed to me was Boston Cream Pie. I have not tasted Boston Cream Pie for years and years. So today I filled my grocery cart with things I don't often buy: cake flour, extra large eggs, whole milk, half-and-half and whipping cream. The rules state I can not substitute ingredients or switch procedures. 
So we shopped, ate somewhere where the waiters polished the silverware and glasses when not busy, saw Shrek The Musical, shopped, went to the Shedd, enjoyed dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, shopped, ate lunch at the top of the Hancock building and came home. Did I mention it was really, really hot? We probably would have gone to the Science and Industry too but it was just so hot we enjoyed staying close to the air conditioned hotel and mall.
The painting is called The Blind Leading the Blind and just in case you can't tell from this small photo, one by one they are all falling into a large pit.
OK, the violets are blooming also. These are orphan violets that really belong to Emily. I need to divide and re-pot them.
This looks really cool but I was not in the room when Gordon looked at it, so I have no clue what he is holding. A plate with stripes? A twig weaving?
