FEATHER DRAMAS @ THE SMITH'S

 Such a on-going show in our little backyard this year!  Looks like the first photo here will lead me to show how the little crooked birdhouse that Norm made....very much like this one shown here, blew off into the 'wilds of Roseburg'.  We don't normally have the types of winds that we used to experience on the coast.  Anyway, off it flew and I asked Norm to make another one just like it since it was one of my favorites.  Below is the in-the-rough beginning.  Further down you'll see Norm working on it as it nears completion.

 Above is one of my first of the David Austin roses...........I love this rose.  It's so delicate in appearance, has a beautiful fragrance and seems pretty hardy.......I'll try getting some slips soon.

 Just a little house or purple finch that visited.  Since he arrived in the middle of the great war between the swallows and the bluebirds, I think he just wanted to watch the sport.  He hung around for a while as the show went on around him..........

 Now this birdhouse is the one that the swallows used to raise their babies last year.  There was a confrontation between the two last year, too, but they finally settled into agreeing to disagree..........The bluebirds, which I thought were friendly, sweet little guys, that just spread happiness all around where ever they came.....Oh, so wrong!!!   They are aggressive and relentless in their declaration of territory.....So, whenever the swallows would begin patching up their previous nest the bluebirds would move over to stand on top of their house.........like the photo above.  There is another birdhouse that  the male swallow would sit guarding the female's work.  (typical) but this year the bluebirds would take that guard station over, too.  The bluebirds finally started going into the swallows nest and I think they destroyed it.  Everytime the swallows come in now, the bluebirds are right there and I[ve noticed the swallows have given up...........can't blame them, but I'll miss watching the new brood being raised.

 A few days after the destruction of the swallows nest I thought it was pretty funny to hear some birds just fussing away........there on top of the bluebirds birdhouse was a bright big blue jay...........what goes around comes around, don't ch'a know?

Through this time of torturing the poor swallows, the bluebird of happiness were busy attacking every window around our house.  Their reflections were as relentless as they were.  Norm started threatening about getting his b-b-gun when they started leaving messes on our brand new deck.  I started dropping blinds and doing everything I could to discourage them, at least around the deck. Something finally worked.....About this time I noticed there was all kind of dried weeds on the front porch.  A pair of sparrows were now trying to build a nest on the timbers over the porch.....the bluebirds eventually scared them off, too.  I read on Google that the aggressiveness of birds is based somewhat on the size and strength of their beaks.....I'd never thought about that before, but it makes sense, doesn't it?

 So hear in the ever so talented husband of mine, finishing up the new birdhouse.  See all those little shingles on the roof?  A hassle, apparently, to tack on. The shingles are fairly thin and would frequently split when he would try to tack them on.  He must have worked all day on just the roof.  Finally, it reached a stage of painting and then 3 coats of varnish.  I think it looks great!