How Cool is That?!

Yesterday I "made" my son take a tour of our yard to look at all of the roses and other new plantings we've put in this year.  He doesn't really mind, but he does like to make comments like..."what are you, 80 years old now?" as I point out the various plants and make him lean over and smell all of the buds.  I consider this time spent together to be mother son bonding time, and he considers it a way to learn which flowers to send his girlfriend, so it all works out.

As we passed by one of our huge old walnut trees, I told him to take a peek inside the bluebird box to see if there were any eggs.

When we moved into this house, there was already a bluebird box affixed to this beautiful tree, and with each passing spring I have waited patiently for a nest to be built and eggs to be hatched.  We've seen mama bluebirds come and go from the box over the past 6 years, but there were never any eggs and so I waited, and hoped.

Then, just a few weeks ago, we noticed that there seemed to be increased activity at the box, and one day while passing by the box, Mr. Tide announced that a female bluebird had flown out of the box and "scared the #$% out of him," as he walked past.  He also concluded that he had probably startled her more than she had him.

I just knew that this must be a good sign, and that we would be rewarded with eggs this year.

So when my son gently tapped the side of the box so as not to get a face full of bird when he opened the top, and he took a gander inside, this is what he found...5 beautiful blue eggs!  At first, when he said that there were in fact eggs in there I almost didn't believe him....we had waited so long for this moment, well I had anyway!

I was so excited that I squealed a little and vowed to come back later with my camera to take a few pics.  Later that evening I did just that.  While standing on my tiptoes I pointed the camera down inside the box and hoped for the best since I couldn't see what I was shooting.

I didn't want to linger too long because mama was not happy, though she was very accommodating and simply flew off to a nearby tree to wait out the interloping humans.  After I grabbed a few shots...some of which were perfect pics of the side or top of the box and not the eggs, I backed off and switched to my long lens in hopes she would return to her tiny egg shaped treasures.

She was hesitant at first, even with me a fair distance away, and she called in reinforcements in the form of daddy bluebird.  They worked as a team, with him chirping out warning signs if he thought the coast wasn't clear, and then finally giving her the go ahead to venture back inside the box...even perching above her to watch her back as she nestled down inside.  See her little eye peeking out from the box in the photo above while her other half checks to make sure she is safe and sound...love that!  And yes, he really is that blue, I haven't changed the saturation, I just lightened the picture so that you could see her more clearly.

Here she is on a nearby perch waiting for her mate to signal that it was time to return to her babies...isn't she beautiful?  Even though the females aren't as stunningly blue as the males, they are still a treat to see. 

A few weeks ago I saw a male bluebird on our fence fly off and bring a bug or grub back to his female companion who was also sitting on the fence.  I thought it was so sweet that I texted Mr. Tide who was in the other room....yeah we're weird like that and sometimes text instead of yelling things from one end of the house to another.  Now I wonder if it wasn't this pair of bluebirds who seem so perfectly content and happy as they are about to welcome 5 baby bluebirds into the world.  Thank you Walt Disney for making me anthropomorphize birds into a newlywed couple setting up house and having their first children. ;-)

Whatever human characteristics I may have conveyed upon these two doesn't really matter, the fact is I have 5 awesome bluebirds eggs in our box and that means more bluebirds flitting about my yard in the future, and that my friends makes me one very happy camper!

Some of you have been so kind as to email me and ask that I re-open my comments section.  Thank you for your wonderful words, but please know that my goal with any post is to leave you with a smile, much in the way that seeing a cute video, or reading a magazine article does.

I don't need the feedback, and am content in just knowing that maybe someone enjoyed what they viewed.  Like reading a magazine, maybe you will rip out the page for later, or even mention it to a friend, but you don't feel the pressure or the need to write the editor unless it's really something you feel strongly about.  So for now, please just enjoy my blog for what it is, and I will continue to try and provide you with silly words and hopefully joyful pictures.   xoxo Kat