... Do you think I look like Yoda?

It has been ages since I blipped one of the cats so I thought today would be a good day for it. And, Rocket was willing to strike some poses. He even yawned before giving me the Blch Face. I actually told him that he does look a bit like Yoda at certain angles.

The day started out rather badly. I came downstairs to have my tea and get ready for the day and when I looked out the front window --- the wren nestbox was not hanging from the tree. I ran outside (still in my jammies) and found the nestbox upside down in the shrub below the tree - it had fallen maybe a foot or two. I carefully picked it up and could not hear any chirping coming from inside - but Mom was on a branch a few feet away chittering at me, clearly upset. I carefully hung the box and she immediately went in, and then came right now again. By now I was certain that the worst had happened and all the chicks were dead. But when I looked around the shrubbery, I could not find any evidence of chicks. So, I went back in, showered, dressed, and then came down and sat in my office, in a funk. I kept an eye out on the box and while I did see and hear the wrens in the tree, they made no attempt to enter the box again.

Finally around 2:30 in the afternoon, I decided to take the box apart and see if there were any corpses inside. Happily, the only thing inside was a bit of poo and lots of twigs and nesting material. I still don't know what happened to the hatchlings. If my calculations are right, they would have been about ready to fledge so I suppose it is possible that they are up in the trees, perfectly okay. I hope so. I am not sure how the nestbox came down - if the wind did it or if a wild critter did it. And I don't supposed I'll ever know. On a possibly related note, on the other side of the house, my butterfly feeder was smashed to bits, definitely a nighttime marauder. These are the dangers of country living!

So that was a bit of a downer way to start the day and I confess that I have been in a bit of a funk all day. However, my hubs, who has been out of town this week, is on his way home, so my day is already feeling better! And, I now have at least 3 and possible 4 hummers in the backyard. I think I saw 3 females today and there is definitely one male. He has been doing his courtship flights all week, usually right off the deck. He swoops in large sweeping U's, in speeds of up to 50 MPH. He will typically do 3 or 4 swoops before taking a rest. The female will be sitting on a tree or branch watching his display, sizing him up. In this case, he is working hard to woo several females - gotta give the little guy props. I've always called the season alpha male P-Hummie because when they sit on a limb and bob their heads, chittering away, they look kind of like a little rapper. Hence, P-Hummie. As soon as I can get P to sit still or at least hover, I'll blip him. But for now, I don't want to get in the way of his wooing of the ladies...

And if you didn't already know it, one of our own is celebrating a special blip day today...stop by and say hi to Laura Borla!

Happy Friday, blippers!