It's spring!

[altivo]

Robins are all over the place now trying to outsing the cardinals and chickadees. Woodpeckers are drumming on tree branches.

More significant, though: We planted snow peas today. May not sprout because the seeds were old, and I have new ones coming in the mail soon, but we wanted to try to get the earliest possible start. Tomorrow: lettuce and perhaps turnips. Spinach is already coming up in the hot frame.

Horses aren't shedding out much yet, so I wonder if they know something I don't.

Comments

[flamekist.livejournal.com]

We have robins here year-round. They're extremely rare in mid-winter, but if you look hard you can find one.

This weekend I've been cleaning the back patio, pulling weeds out of the flower pots and refilling all of them with fresh soil in preparation of growing herbs in them. One of the smaller empty pots against the house was full of leaves. I was just about to pull them out when I realized it was a bird's nest. And sure enough, in a nearby tree a pair of wrens were jumping around screaming at me. As soon as I was done on the patio I looked out the window and saw them fly up and inspect their nest. Fortunately there were no eggs in there yet, so there's no harm if they decide to abandon it now.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I have conflicted feelings about wrens. They have some very nasty habits, such as poking holes in the eggs of other species and especially the Eastern bluebirds who are among my favorites.

[flamekist.livejournal.com]

I had no idea that wrens did that! All I ever noticed was that they're extremely efficient at eating all the spiders under the eaves of the house. We even have one that sleeps on one of the wind chimes hanging on the front porch. We always hear him when he lands from all the racket the chimes make right at dusk.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I rarely see the wrens around here, but I hear them often enough to know there are plenty about. Yes, wrens are noted for vandalizing bluebird nests. Unfortunately, they are smaller than the bluebirds, so you can't exclude them from a nestbox by using a smaller hole.

Why such a behavior would have evolved? Who can say? The two species do compete for similar food, live insects that they catch on the ground or on plants rather than in the air the way swallows do. I know the wrens don't actually eat the bluebird eggs. They just sabotage them.