The End of the Story

We've had a wonderful week watching the parents take care of their babies and seeing the babies grow.

The parents not only put the insects in their mouth, but right down their throat. They fed them so continually that it was easy to photograph them. They let us get within 8 feet of them.

We had to go away on Saturday/Sunday and we knew the babies were close to leaving the nest. They leaned way out of the nest and were interested in the world around. We just hoped they'd wait until we returned to leave so we could see and photograph it.

We returned Sunday and found an empty nest. Then I found 3 dead babies on the ground. We assume they left the nest and a cat got them. We wish we had been here to rescue them. Our yard is quieter than it has been for a month or more with no swallows around.

We hope for better luck next time round. And we've talked to our neighbor about keeping her cat out of our yard and she responded well.
So that's the end of the story.

6 Days Old!

In 6 days the baby swallows have grown and gotten a lot fluffier.

Twins! I still have never seen more than 2 at a time. But then, there really isn't room for more than 2 at the door.

We hear a lot of cheeping. It sounds very short and rhythmic - like the blast of a machine gun.

The parents are busy keeping them fed. Notice the waiting beak in the entrance hole.

This is a baby at 3 days old. Quite a change, eh?

We've got Baby Swallows!

We returned from Edmonton today and found our birdhouse had little cheeps coming from it. I managed to catch a few shots while mama was off getting bugs. I've seen two babies but don't know yet how many there are.

I find it amazing how they know to open their mouths wide for food. But then it's also amazing how the parents knew to sit on the eggs and take turns guarding them. God programed all they need to know in their little brains! We should be well-entertained in the next few weeks.

Our yard is a happening place for birds right now. The honeyberries are ripe and the robins have gathered for a feast.

We're Expecting!

If my estimations are right, we should have baby swallows in our birdhouse next week. It's been fun watching the process - checking out the houses, choosing one, chasing away intruders, gathering nesting material and building. For the last two weeks they've been in and out, spelling each other off. Often every 10 to 15 minutes a swallow will fly down to the house, and with perfect timing, she will fly out of the house as he flies in. Awhile later they will trade. Sometimes she just stays inside and he guards. I'm amazed at how patiently he waits.

Last weekend we had a crisis when a sparrow began to harass them. We've helped chase away sparrows, cats, robins. They've nested in the only house facing west, which is the one facing away from the house. They'll let us get very close, but she does get a little nervous and pokes her head out, ready for flight.


I discovered a new bird in the marsh. I'd never seen or heard of it before. It's a Sora. It walks like a chicken, and it habitually flicks its stubby white tail. Its flicking tail is thought to be intended for prey - while the prey watches its tail, the bill catches it by surprise. It has green legs. I'm fortunate to have seen it because my bird book says that though it is common, it is seldom seen. "Human birders seldom see Soras." It is about the size of a robin. I haven't seen it since.

New Lower Deck!

Mal closed in the patio and built a lower deck. I'm very happy with it. We may make a few additions, such as adding lattice under the stairs and building a railing on the right. We'll see.

Travis came over to offer some encouragement. Our Virginia Creeper is doing well this year. It should crawl along the wall and railings as it grows.

This doesn't look like much, but it was the hardest part to get everything level.

Think we've had enough rain?

This is the marsh by our house. After an extra-rainy May and June we've got a lake! The cattails are off to the left. I'm guessing the village is glad they decided not to drain the area!

This was the view last week. The nests of birds probably got drowned. The rain just seemed endless. This week is sunny and the world is glad! A lot of the water has drained away already.

I was worried about my sunflowers and other plants drowning. They were in a pool of water and the ground was squishy. I piled more dirt on top to suck up the water, built a dike around them, and at times, covered them with a pail to keep the rain off them. They lived to see a better day. This week they're enjoying the sun and growing.

I'm a Sausage-maker!

When we were up north I tasted some homemade sausage and we really liked it so I got the recipe and tried it. It's easy to make and tastes great. You'd never know it was homemade from hamburger.

Here's what it looks like after baking. The recipe is:

3 lbs. hamburger
2 Tbsp. Morton's Quik Cure
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tbsp. mustard seed
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. liquid smoke

Mix all together, refrigerate for 3 days. Each day, mix it again to blend flavours. On the fourth day, form into rolls and bake for 1 1/2 hours at 275 degrees.

I doubled the recipe to get 4 rolls. Freeze what you won't use fairly quickly. I bought the Morton's quik cure at Safeway for $6 for a big pack and the liquid smoke at Co-op for $3.39, also for an amount that will make a number for batches. After you bake it , it totally changes color and texture so it tastes like regular sausage.

Come over and try some!