It has been so long that I forgot how to log in to our site, and how to start a new blog. Can I blame it on the pandemic?
Three years after we first stepped through the doors of Millar House, and we love it more and more.
My husband remarked something along the lines of, “We may think we own this place, but it really belongs to all of the wildlife!”
An enterprising robin built a nest in April on the holiday wreath that I had forgotten to take off the front door while we were away from January til April this year. Eventually there were four eggs and at least three hatched. A little later, Mama Robin figured out that where I have been digging with my hoe in the garden, the ground is easier to pull worms out of. So she started following me around the yard, at a safe distance. The real excitement started when I hoed up a white grub and tossed it in her direction. After that, she followed me around expecting to be fed, often coming within a couple of feet. Her fledgling children follow her around wanting to be fed by her. Now, as I work in the yard, I have at least two robins hopping around under my plants, watching every move I make. I think she believes I’m digging to find food for myself too.
I made friends with a handsome red-winged blackbird who has a home along the waterfront edge of our property. When he comes to the bird feeder, he announces himself -every single time- with a warble. He also lets me know if the feeder is empty, with a very different sound - sort of a disappointed squeak - and waits until I bring out more feed. When I refill the feeder in the afternoon, we know the food won’t go bad overnight- a local raccoon mama comes by at 8:30 every evening to sit for a comfortable munch. Since she is having to feed a brood, I don’t mind that she eats a cup of sunflower seeds every evening.