Nature's Guests - Welcome and Not

It pleases me when animals choose to make our place their home. A robin has laid her nest in the tree next to our screen porch door. We have taken to using the other door, going out of our way, so we won't disturb her. She has 3 eggs in there now and spends most of her day keeping them warm. I speak to her softly whenever I happen by, telling her what a good mother she is.

I like to think she chose this place because she senses our welcome. The nest is well hidden in the tree and protected by the screen porch on one side. There is water close at hand and a variety of things to eat, too. She darts to a nearby tree when frightened, giving her a secure location to watch.

We also have at least one baby bunny who lives here, so there is probably a bunny family in residence in the wooded buffer. Little Mr. Cottontail likes to squeeze through the rabbit fencing into the garden to get a nibble. Fortunately, s/he hasn't done too much damage.

And then there are the pesky guests that come uninvited ... the flies, the fleas and the crows. I am trying a new fly control method this year. Fly predators are expensive, so we have hung a bug zapper in the goat shed. I have two fly swatters there too, and when the neighborhood helpers come over, they have fun seeing who can kill the most flies. Flea baths and pills did not help my dog last year, so again I am trying something different ... a mite comb. I comb the dog morning and evening to eradicate his fleas. So far, so good. And, I didn't mind the crows last year until I saw one carrying off a baby bird with Mom and Dad birds squawking in hot pursuit.

Beautiful (but noisy) red cardinals and rose-eating aphids; lady bugs and wasps. It's a lesson about life, learning to take the bad with the good. It's like mosquito bites ... they're a nuisance, but it feels so good when you scratch them!