Twentyfive years ago, when
OlderSon was in Grade 4 and
YoungerSon was still in his pram, my husband built this Bird Condo. There were no blueprints or plans, he just created it in the back workshop one winter.
It was supposed to attract Purple Martins but the Sparrows got there first.
Many generations of Sparrows have taken their first flights here over the years, but eventually the harsh weather took it's toll, the roof fell in, the plywood buckled, the paint peeled, and it had seen better days. Not many of the 27 apartments were still warm and dry, and the birds decided to look for more suitable accommodation.
Then The Space Cadet came along and magically rebuilt it. And the birds moved back in.... still no Purple Martins, but lots of Sparrows.
The rings around the holes are repairs made after an enormous black squirrel climbed the post last summer and made a meal of some of the babies, and tried to make a meal of the birdhouse too.
Ha! Damn tree rats!
This year we've enjoyed watching lots of families grow up and take flight. This hardworking mum spends all day feeding 4 hungry bossy squawking noisy chicks. And it's mum doing all the work, I've only seen dad there a couple of times.
I suppose he's busy at the office.
Try to imagine this: these pictures were taken by balancing a chair on the small patio table, then balancing binoculars on the chair with the left hand, and holding my little Nikon Coolpix 2100 digi camera zoomed in to the binoculars right lens with my right hand, and trying to hold the whole contraption steady without wobbling until there was a picture worth taking!
Scoring a Century
Guess what, this is my 100th post! Yes, I've pressed the "Publish Post" button 100 times since last November. And to celebrate, there's a little prezzie for somone... not sure what the prezzie is yet, but it will be something nice. All commenters on this post will have their name put in a hat and one of you will be the lucky winner.
Thanks to everyone for reading this. I'm having so much fun getting to know you all. And I'm ready to start the next 100 posts ASAP!
Sedum in my garden.
The sunny colours of Golden Rod. This isn't the one that makes you sneeze, that's Ragweed.
I look out of my front window and I see this glorious red maple. 
And of course, fruit and veggies are abundant at this time of year. Bacon and tomato sandwiches for lunch, my favourite. A teeny weeny sprinkle of salt, some mayo, toasted homemade 12 grain bread.... need I say more? 
P.S. Getting close to that magic number of 10,000 blog visitors! If you are Number 10,000, leave me a message, there will be a little prize in the mail for you.
