Beautiful morning here. I’m watching a mama wren come & go, feeding her nest full of babies, while I enjoy my coffee.
The wren built her nest in the corner of a box holding ratchet straps that is sitting on a table on the front porch. When I first discovered the nest, I checked for eggs & there were 5 so the nest area is off limits until the babies fledge. Usually the wrens build nests in hanging flower pots on the porch, but the pots currently don’t have anything in them so the box was chosen.
Beautiful weather, high about 70, until late afternoon when we might get some showers. The goals today are to mow the place & load the trailer before I head for the new house Monday. Tomorrow being Mother’s Day, I will probably make a meal for mom & stick around so she’s not alone - rest of the family expected to be out of town. Shrimp scampi or chicken marbella (both Ina Garten recipes)?
Have a great weekend everybody.
I just found Ina’s cookbook ‘Cooking for Jeffrey’ for a few bucks at my thrift store. Was THRILLED that someone would part with it! :)
Your Wren story reminded me that Mom used to have a huge (like half the room!) cage with various Finches in it. They were fun to watch and man were they fertile! I found their chirping soothing.
We are having a bunch of people over for Mother’s Day tomorrow, so today I am cleaning and making Maple Burgers for the grill and a Rhubarb Custard Pie. Mom is bringing TWO kinds of Potato Salad because ONE is just not enough, LOL! (She makes GREAT Potato Salad) It’s supposed to hit 80 here tomorrow - rain late in the day - which is a pleasant surprise as they predicted a rainy day earlier in the week. :)
Mowing got done yesterday and Beau has been working on repairs to some of the first raised beds which have held up for close to 14 years, but need some help now. I have strawberry plants to move around in the same bed, and a number of ‘Cats Eye’ Mini Iris to share with my local friends, that needed dividing, anyway. ;)
We have an area of our yard that is terraced, and the middle terrace is the most level, and where I do my potting. There are several mature trees and I’ve created a little woodland garden area near one of the trees with a little bit of yard art. It’s where my Virginia bluebells are planted, and a painted fern, hosta, and some sweet woodruff too. One of the pieces of yard art is a bird house on a post.
Every year some house wrens make a nest there. The thing is out in the elements so is beginning to fall apart. It doesn’t have a door to open to clean it out every season, but the roof nails have given way so now I can peer into it a little. Yesterday I found 3 house wren eggs. Mama hasn’t started incubating yet, so I guess there could be more coming. I’ll keep an eye on it.
The bluebirds chose another of the four bluebird houses and began bringing nesting material the day after the babies fledged, which would’ve been May 1st. So yesterday I checked briefly, and could tell there were at least two eggs in there. It’s up high, and I can’t reach it well enough to get a good camera angle, and I don’t like to disturb the area for long. It’s good to see they are ready with the next clutch to get going.
You should choose whichever meal your Mama prefers. Very nice of you to make a feast for her like that. She’ll love it!