For the birds. . .

I’m off to the beach and am not taking my blackberry or my computer.  I need a break from technology.  I’ll see you back here next week, with more bedroom updates and a gorgeous house tour.  But first, a bit about why my life is “for the birds.”

One of my favorite things about working on my porch, morning or night, is the “wildlife.” When things are quiet, like they are on my suburban street in the middle of a weekday, the birds are active, flitting to and fro as they go about their daily business.

Even with the dogs lounging at my feet, and my cat perched on the table like a lazy sentinel, the birds feel free to hop throughout my yard.

In just a few weeks I’ve come to recognize most of them.  There’s the robin, who is quite active, and probably is the owner of the nest behind my fence.

The handsome cardinal, who flies from branch to branch looking like a little sentinel, is harder to get a photo of…

Then there’s a larger, more unique bird, who makes graces my yard less frequently.  At first glance, he appeared to be black in color, until he flew off in a hurry, exposing a beautiful navy blue breast.  Any idea what he is?

The little brown birds are everywhere, and are the most brave.  Just yesterday I caught one of them on my porch, not more than 3 feet from my cat (who was lazily stalking it).  Needless to say I made an intervention, so that they both could live.

The foxes are a whole other story.  I always know when one is nearby, as the dogs take off on a determined rush to the back corner of the fence.  I walk over to peek, and inevitably – the young fox is there, in the backyard catty-corner to mine, looking over at us with a slightly fearful expression.  He’s (she’s?) amazing to watch, as he trots quickly out of sight, hopping over fences like a clumsy cat.  Every sighting brings me a little excitement, though.  I feel so fortunate to have just a few signs of wildlife in my suburban backyard.

For more animal cuteness, you must hop over to Posy the Porcelain Pig and see what precious little critter Mikalah photographed today!