Molly... Monty... and Puffy

It seems we have been "overtaken" with little visitors... they have burrowed under our neighbors patio... there are several "holes" in the mulch... and it's been fun watching them scurry in and out... back and forth...

I have been waiting with camera at the ready to see if I could get a quick shot of ANY of them... Lilley-Kate has sat still (for 20 minutes yesterday evening) waiting... and waiting for them to peek out... as soon as she sees one they are IMMEDIATELY given a name...

This is MOLLY...


This is MONTY... (at first he was DELMONTY... LOL... but she shortened it to just MONTY)


And THIS is PUFFY... we caught "him" (I definitely think it's a "HE"... what GIRL would be caught with her cheeks crammed full of food like that in "public"???) spending quite a bit of time at our neighbors birdfeeder the other evening... making the evening birds that visit quite angry since "PUFFY" ate all the birdseed!!!

The neighbor mentioned filling the holes... I'm guessing they don't think Molly, Monty, and Puffy are quite as cute as WE think they are!!!

Lilley-Kate said to the neighbor "Well... tell the chipmunks my Dad said they can come live in our woodpile if you don't like them living at your house"... LOL...

Fashionably Late...

We were THRILLED yeaterday to FINALLY receive some visitors to the garden...

Much anticipated... and better late than never!!!

Crowded Out...

So... a couple of weeks ago we realized we had "occupants" in a nest under the front eave right outside Lilley-Kate's bedroom window... I had Michael literally hang out the window and snap a picture...


Then yesterday we noticed little heads poking up above the edge of the nest... so once again I had Michael hang out the window and snap a picture this morning (much to the disliking of the "Mother Robin" sqwuaking" from our neighbors roof)...



Well... we get ready to head out for a little shopping and I about have a heart attack when I step off the back porch!!! The BABY ROBINS have "flown the coop" (or do only chickens do that?... anyway)... we could only find one of the babies... which seemed quite comfortable on my car and obvious had no plans to move along...

The "Mommy Robin" sat watching from our neighbors roof... seemingly torn between concern and unconcern... finally she let out a couple of "sqwuaks" and flew away... she had given her little ones love, food, and shelter...

Now it was time for them to use their wings...

Lilley-Kate was quite perplexed as to WHY the "Mommy Robin" would just fly off and leave her babies... Michael explained that that is what some animals do... later in the car she said she wouldn't want to be a bird... I asked why... and she said "Because I wouldn't want you to just leave me like that Mommy bird left HER baby"... OH... my favorite girl... THAT would never happen...

An Invasion...

We are being INVADED by SQUIRRELS... I THINK that the squirrels born this past Spring are now being "kicked out" of the nests... they are EVERYWHERE all of a sudden... this morning when I took the dog out I counted 13 just in our yard alone... running around like BANCHEES and acting all crazy... I am ASSUMING they are young (they are small and kinda skinny... growling and "chirping" at each other)... as they are bold enough to get "too close for my comfort" to the house and ME... UUUUUggghhhh... BATS, BIRDS (especially the big black CROWS), and SQUIRRELS... Next time I/we go out I'm takin' the broom as my "weapon"...

CAUGHT!!!...

We knew we had "nibblers" in our flower beds... the plants chewed down to the mulch were the evidence... but we had never caught one of the offenders... until this morning...

An EXCITING Visitor...

After standing at the kitchen window with camera at the ready... I was able to snap a couple of pictures of a very exciting visitor to our window feeder... it was fun to watch the male cardinal knock the seed to the ground... only the male cardinal came up to the feeder as the female stayed on the ground and ate the seed... we have really enjoyed watching all our visitors to the feeder... probably one of the best purchases we have made (and the least expensive)!!!

Long Awaited Visitors...

A couple of weeks ago we purchased a window feeder (at Lilley-Kate's insistance) and have had it up at the kitchen window... PATIENTLY (or TRYING to be patient) waiting for a feathered visitor... we noticed that the food was decreasing... but had not been able to glimpse any birds actually AT the feeder... EVERY DAY Lilley-Kate would ask when I picked her up at school "Mommy... Have any birds visited"... and I would say "No... not today... but they will soon"... well... TODAY we had a visitor!!!... and I was actually able to catch a few shots of them! Lilley-Kate is in school presently... oh how I WISH she had been here... but she'll be THRILLED that I was able to snap some shots! Hope everyone is having a WONDERFUL day!