Sunday, July 15, 2012

VISITORS TO THE SECRET GARDEN



First order of business - I have now gone over 100 followers and to all of you, I sing your praises and appreciate you all from the bottom of my heart.





Picture taken without flash


The Captain took this picture when he found the little babies outside the garage on our driveway before the sun came up.  He picked them up and put them in the Secret Garden, as we think their nest is in the big holly tree that overhangs the Garden.



Picture taken with flash

Dialog:

Captain:  "Whoa, where did you come from?"

Babies:  "Are you our Daddy?  Do you have any worms for us?"


I have always called these birds, Blue Jays.  They are a very obnoxious bird, in my opinion, with their loud squawks. They complain about everything.  They come into the gazebo and poop on the cushions.  They are very forward. But, as with all babies, their's are very cute.


 I learned this morning, coincidently, from the newspaper, that we do not have Blue Jays in California.  They only reside east of the Rockies.  What we have are called Stellar Jays, which have a Mohawk haircut, and really are quite pretty to look at, and Scrub Jays, which look just like their name, Scrubby!




This is the Stellar Jay and who, I believe, is the babies' mama or possibly, the daddy.  




I apologize for the poor quality of the pictures. I took them through the screen door.  I was afraid it would scare them if I opened the door.  I didn't know, at this time, that the Captain had already rescued them once.

They perched on the branches of the wisteria vine for quite some time before one of them flew onto the top of the fence.  It took him awhile to make sure his wings would take him where he wanted to go.




Can you believe how tall he looks when he stretched his legs and wings?




He finally made it, but Little Sister wasn't so lucky.  She sat on the branch for a long time afterwards and when she finally tried, she fluttered down to the ground, and I couldn't get another picture of her.




Brother finally made it to the other side of the fence and found another perch but now they were both in Buddy's yard!  And he was out there but, luckily he was sound asleep in the shade so he didn't even know they were there. He is a bird dog, after all, but not much of a watchdog!




I had things to do so went about my business and didn't check back until later in the day, and would you believe, Brother (I think) was back on the same wisteria perch he started on.  I say Brother because he seemed to be the stronger of the two and more eager to take chances.




Finally, as I was watching, he fluffed himself up and flew up towards the holly tree.  That was the best I had seen him do.


We didn't see any more of them and thought that the visit was over, and this morning the adult birds were squawking away from the top of our back fence, looking over into the neighbor's back yard, so I think they are still on the quest of looking for their lost babies.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Fast forward to today....


Look who's back!  I chanced opening the door and got a pretty good shot.




I think this is Little Sister again, as she hopped around for awhile from place to place without much energy.




All of a sudden she saw something familiar above her...



"Mama, Mama" 
or possibly,
"Daddy, Daddy"
"Do you have any worms for me?"


And off she flew to the top of the gazebo.




Since we hadn't seen Big Brother for awhile, we hoped that he hadn't fallen to any harm, but as we looked up, there they both were, reunited.




It's funny, when you are all grown and settled, how easily you forget how hard it was to leave the nest....Judy




I know it was the robin who first showed the way into the Secret Garden, but, I must admit, I couldn't help looking over my shoulder for Mary Lennox.




I'm sharing this little tale with:



























19 comments:

  1. Congrats on 100 followers. I remember how exciting that was for me, too. I love all the sweet pictures of your babies! Blessings to you- xo Diana

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  2. I love it Mom!! I can just hear dad talking to the little babies!! Good thing you didn't open the door...just imagine if they flew into the house!!! What ever would you have done??? I bet we could have heard your scream clear down here!! LOVE Tami ;)

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  3. What an enchanting post Judy. How sweet the little jays are. You were lucky to be able to pick them up and take them to the secret garden. They might possibly make that their home.! birds are strange creatures.. they always return.
    Your photos are spectacular great shots.
    Congratulations on 100 followers Judy. Your blog is beautiful.
    wishing you luck for your next 100.. I dont think I could answer them all.
    happy Monday
    valx

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  4. Stellar Jays sound a lot like blue jays. They are loud and bossy at the bird feeders but thankfully haven't pooped on my deck furniture! Congrats on 100 followers!

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  5. Congratulations Judy on reaching your centenary !! Glad your little birds are coping in the big wide world, they have to learn survival so quickly
    Thea x
    P.S Thank you very much for your sweet words, they mean such a lot x

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  6. What fun you've had watching the progress of those baby birds! Love the progress you were able to catch in your photos.
    Thanks so much for stopping by and your sweet comments, Mary Alice

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  7. So Sweet! I have never seen these kind of Jays before.

    Blessings,
    Amy Jo

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  8. Hey Sis, That was a fun read. Especially you guys speaking for the birds! And it had a happy ending!.....Tami had it right...if you'd opened the door and one came in......ha ha....we know how you can't stand things flying around your head!
    Well, I'm not surprised at all your followers. And you might have one more as of today because I spoke to a lady on the phone in Elk Grove and she was anxious to view your Blog.
    your sis

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  9. 'Sweet birdies, we had a momma dove set her nest on our hose reel one year, She was so cute with her baby, Had to find an alternate hose to use half the Spring but that was ok.

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  10. Oh, I just love a little bird tale. How sweet that you got to see their adventure as they learned to start life outside of the nest. We have lots of birds to watch at my friend's house where we work, but the mockingbird nest is out front and we only get to see it now and again. I'd love to watch the little ones learn to fly as you did. Thanks for sharing such a great story with us, complete with pictures no less. It IS hard to get shots of the birds up close without staying behind windows or doors. you did well!
    Liz

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  11. Hi Judy
    Like kittens and puppies, baby birds are cute too until they mature and can do things to annoy us. We have blue jays outside every morning squawking or what I call begging for peanuts.
    Congratulations on reaching 100 followers, it's always a special number knowing people are actually reading what you write.
    Judith

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  12. Hi Judy...CONGRATS on hitting 100 followers!!! You've done good girl and you've come a long way :) Great post...we have those same birds in British Columbia where I moved to Kansas from...they are a pretty...but irritating birds. I hope your week has been a good one so far! Maura (Lilac Lane Cottage ;)

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  13. Hello there!
    I have found you through lovely Thea's blog...
    how beautiful this post is...
    I loved seeing these little birds on there journey of new life!
    Have a week full of loveliness.
    mariax

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  14. How sweet to watch the baby birds. You can't help but worry for them but they look as though they are doing fine. Congratulations on reaching 100 followers.

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  15. Hi Judy! Oh, what a sweet post on these little birds. We do have blue jay here. They are beautiful birds but they too squawk all the time like your scrub jays. I'm sure they're cousins.
    Thanks so much for popping in to see me.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  16. I love this post. I love the distorted photos. They make the experience all the more real. It's great how you've assigned family titles to each of them.

    - The Tablescaper

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  17. Such a sweet blue jay post! Love the happy ending, too. Hugs, Jean

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  18. Wild safari! We love seeing the bird action. You got a front row seat! I'm glad it all turned out well!

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  19. Judy - I'm so sorry to hear about your little dog, Buffy passing away. Know that you are in my thoughts and I hope that each day will hold many wonderful memories of your sweet friend. Hugs, Deb

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Your comments are so special to me...Judy