New Residents

© shoutingforha

As I mentioned yesterday, I haven't been home very much over the past few days. Imagine my surprise last night when I let the Beast outside and noticed that a we had a new resident here at the Ha house.

A mama robin had decided to build a nest directly on top of my back porch light. She must be a quick builder because I don't remember noticing any activity preceding my discovery. 

That may be partly due to my absence.

In reality it is more likely the result of all the rain that has been falling here in Tennessee. The Beast avoids getting wet at all costs and has refused to step foot outside for the better part of three days. In the brief moments that I have been home, I have rarely had to open the back door.

As far as I can tell, the mama robin is putting the finishing touches on her new home. She keeps flying over with little bits of soft fuzzy grass to line the interior of the nest. It won't be long until the new home is ready to welcome a few tiny eggs.

© shoutingforha

The boys and I are excited about our house guests. It will be fun trying to sneak an occasional peek at the new life growing inside the nest. I will post some pictures once the blessed event occurs.

There is, however, one slight concern. Is this new mom going to dive bomb us every time the door opens? The boy asked me this morning if he was in danger of having his "eyes pecked out by some crazy bird." I tried to assure him that his eyes were safe and secure in their sockets.

All joking aside, the little birds will probably turn out to be delightful neighbors. I keep telling myself that they must have toured numerous locations before selecting this particular spot as their new home. Surely they have noticed the large dog and three humans coming and going.
I'm sure you are wondering where I have gained such clever insight into the home selecting habits of birds. Well, by relying on the incredibly useful information gained from countless readings of Make Way For Ducklings, of course. I'm sure Mr. McCloskey would never lead me astray.

It is now time for me to go ponder how I can get a better photograph of the inside of the nest without being too much of a nuisance. As vertically challenged woman, I'm fairly certain it will involve a ladder of some sort. Wish me luck.