Hey, don't blame me for this!

This poor pot has definitely seen better days, but I can't blame Scoobie for the damage - just the effects of sun, heat, ice and snow.  But wouldn't you know it - the darned columbine in the pot refuses to give up and die.  So, the pot remains, providing a nice spot for a little striped rodent to forage.

You might wonder how I know this is Scoobie.  In truth, there are so many chipmunks roaring around the patio/garden right now I can't keep most of them straight.  But Scoobie is special - he's got battle scars, some of which you can see here on his face.  I've often wondered how he got them - maybe a run-in with a predator or maybe another chipmunk.  I'm guessing the former.  And, he is wary, very wary.  He'll never take food from my hand and won't come all the way out of his burrow if I'm too close.  But I am very fond of him and glad he's made his home in my garden.

I made a most intresting discovery today.  There is a second wren nest, about 100 feet or so from the one near our walkway, and it's got five eggs in it!  It would be very unusual for two male wrens to tolerate each other or to nest so close.  In prior years, I've seen bloodcurdling battles when a second male tries to move into the resident wren's territory.  So, I'm not sure if this is some strange anomaly or if perhaps my resident male has managed to woo two females.  Polygamy isn't really common behavior in wrens, but also not totally unheard of.  I'm going to watch both nests and see if I can determine if there are two pairs or just one overachieving male.  

The bluebird pair continues to bring a constant stream on spiders and insects to their nestlings, and exit carrying tidy little diaper sacks.  For those of you who may not be familiar with this, cavity nesting birds poop little "fecal sacs" which the parents then remove from the nest. This does a couple of things - it keeps the nestlings from getting covered in poop and it also deters predators from being attracted by the scent of said poop.  Isn't nature fascinating?

Our neighbors from across the Lane are coming over for dinner tonight - we're doing a traditional holiday weekend barbecue with hamburgers with the added non-traditional weisswurst (German white sausage).  Our local butcher makes fabulous sausages with no yucky additives.  I also made a light version of potato salad with lemon and fresh herbs.  Should be a fun evening as we always enjoy spending time with them.  

Thank you for sending P-Hummie to the front page yesterday!  He's been buzzing around the garden, feeling very full of himself all day.

xo
Debbi

PS:  Today's blip goes with a special shout-out to two blip friends who have a special affinity for my little striped friends:  SimpleMoments and JustBe