Flown the coop

The chickadee family moved on. Maybe they went to Disneyland?  The parents certainly deserved a vacation. After all that drama, the actual nest leaving was nicely anti-climatic.  There was a day of shrill chirping coming from shrubs (babies) and loud encouragement (parents) to get your act together and fly. That was all.  When I was positive it was empty, I moved their silly nest chair over to a more secluded part of the garden where I have a little shrine to Sizzle.  Of course they will probably hate it there. The last thing they need is humans deciding what's good for them. 

For such tiny creatures, they ruled the yard while they were nesting, constantly calling and scolding, but I haven't heard any chickadees lately. Now there are different bird noises in the morning and evening.  John was up especially early on Monday, and he said they were already at it by 4:10 am.  The house finches sing beautifully and there are some secretive sparrows and maybe a Beewick's wren in the hedge.  The robins sound monotonous, but still pretty. But the other evening when I was trying to get to sleep, a bird was making a sound like a miniature hammer hitting a stone.  It went on for about an hour.

It's wet in Seattle this week.  Long periods of drizzle and then several minutes of tropical downpour.  We had thunder, lightening and flickering lights yesterday afternoon. But they say it will be sunny in the high 80's in a few days--  the perfect recipe for jungle.