Poor, but happy

The Black-capped Chickadees parents are feeding babies now in their rickety house a few feet above the ground.  When they land on the roof, I hear a high-pitched, miniature racket going off inside, almost like an electrical wire buzzing.  They must be so tiny.  Our yard is teeming with spiders, bees, flies, worms and assorted insects, so there's a steady stream of food going in.

National Geographic quality bird photography requires massive lenses on tripods and even more massive amounts of patience, but I snapped this picture from the open bedroom window by standing perfectly still for about twenty minutes.  They saw me of course, and scolded, then went about their business.  I'm sure they recognize that lady they see dragging a hose past their home every day.

By the time I fooled around cropping the pictures and playing with my ukulele, I had to get going and there wasn't time to dink with the blog.  That was my pleasant and wonderfully quiet early morning yesterday. Now that I have an iPhone, no need to turn on the local news.  When I get up, I just look up the weather and do a quick check to see if the world came to an end overnight.

So how smart are these chickadees, with crows patrolling overhead like hungry psychopaths?  I watched mom and dad flying back and forth with food, carefully taking their time to enter the nest, as all watchful bird parents do, because rushing directly in attracts predators. They know.

They can barely squeeze through the tiny opening of the box with their mouths full.  Maybe not so dumb, picking a perfect box that fits them alone?

It will still be a big relief when those babies are out.