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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Wednesday Vignette - A House is not a Home And Foliage Follow-Up

Several weeks ago there was some exciting activity as a robin worked industriously at building a nest.  The noise of the bird landing and moving about in a group of Mahonia 'Charity' was  interesting.  The nest looked completed to me and then mom disappeared.  Fast forward to last week and I noticed a robin gathering bits of  Spanish Moss and flying to the nest.  A new couple moving into the nest?  The same bird returning?   This time mom stayed with the nest for about 7 days.

She'd be there morning and night and sometimes would stand at the side of the nest peering down and, I thought turning her eggs.  How delightful to see her raise her brood.  Alas, a couple of days ago, she was no longer on the nest and hasn't returned since.  Perhaps this nest wasn't meant to be a home.  Will she return?  Will another robin think it's a groovy pad?  We shall see.

Wednesday Vignette is hosted by Anna at Flutter and Hum.  Mosey on over to her blog to join the party.

On the day after Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, celebrated garden author, blogger, Garden Bloggers' Fling creator, and all around wonderful person, Pam Penick hosts Foliage Follow-Up to remind us of the important role foliage plays in our gardens every day. Click here to join in the foliar feast. Here are some shots of various foliage in my garden this month.


Oops, remember to remove the hose filling the pond before taking a picture.  




8 comments:

  1. I hope your robin's nest finds an occupant. Finally after several years I have chickadees living in one of my birdhouses. There's a mass of material sticking out the hole and I see them flying in and out.

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  2. What a picky robin! I'd have thought Spanish moss would make the perfect lining for a comfortable nest.

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  3. In my experience Robins are not the brightest bulbs on the strand. They routinely build nests in precarious spots and last spring one hurled itself at my windows for weeks. But hey there are hundreds around so who am I to judge?

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  4. I think robins start building a nest and then wait for the perfect time to finish and then lay eggs. If she left after sitting for seven days I would say the nest was predated.
    I am afraid our little nestlings will be falling out of their nest before they are ready as one side is slumping. I will be watching.
    Your foliage is always a treat.

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  5. Look at that stunning foliage! It's breathtaking! Getting attached to wildlife is so nerve-wracking. I remember one year when four robin's successfully fledged, but one--on its first foray out of the nest--was taken by a starling while I was watching. Another year, I had a great view of a hummingbird nest and got some video footage, too. Unfortunately, it was predated and I later found tiny HB eggs smashed on the ground underneath. That said, it still IS fun to watch the birds go about their nesting and young-raising...and all their activities. Much better than TV!

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  6. Your garden is so much about the foliage. You could feature hundreds of plants!
    I do worry about your robin.

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  7. We put up a lot of birdhouses and had a flurry of activity and then nothing. It was exciting to see a chickadee building a nest in one on our deck but apparently a house finch evicted it. That mad us so mad that we took it down.

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  8. Your Robins are very different to ours x

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.