of birds and fields

Last spring the fields were pink with evening primrose and red with indian paintbrush. The year before they were blue with bluebonnets and purple with henbit. This year yellow is the predominant color in the fields with coreopsis and coneflower and black-eyed susans and other things that I haven't gotten close enough to identify.

part of the 13 Acre Field

I think I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I hadn't seen the wrens for several weeks. Well, the other day Marc happened to notice one flying to the bird house that hangs by the front door. We don't actually use the front door. Only strangers come to the front door. We watched it come and go for a few minutes and it sounded like faint baby birds chirps whenever the wren was perched on the birdhouse.

After it flew off, I climbed up to peer in to see if we had baby wrens but it was too dark in there and silent so I got down and went back to my business. Within five minutes a wren flew into the garage, perched near the open door where it could see me sitting at my work space, screeched at me a bit, and then flew away.

A few days later we saw the wren again coming to and going from the birdhouse and again, it sounded like faint baby bird chirps when the adult was there. Haven't seen it again but then we were back in the city for two days. I don't know if there are babies or not. Maybe not because when they are feeding babies both parents are constantly coming and going and we haven't seen that much activity.

I did manage to get a picture during the second sighting.

When we got home last evening from our day and a half in the city doing business stuff, I was walking around the yard and as I walked past a rose bush a female cardinal bolted out and perched in a nearby pecan tree. I took a closer look and there, nestled in the dense thorny branches, was a nest with four eggs.

This morning I went out for a look with my camera and found the nest without mom so I took the opportunity to get a picture. Apparently, mom and dad were nearby and started chirping loudly, not at all happy with me. I snapped one picture and then left the scene, stopping in the shelter of the new shop building to watch and very soon, the female flew back and settled on the nest.

the rose bush

the nest