chickadee

Damn cats. They have to ruin everything. And they like birds too much.

My aunt has birdhouses in the backyard, used just for decoration. Then we learned there was a family of chickadees living in one. Lots of chirping from both parents and babies. Just lovely. Then this evening, one of our dogs ran to the back door (usually a sign he has to go potty). We let him out and he chased a cat out of our yard. This horrid cat had knocked over the birdhouse and we heard no chirping from the babies, just a lot of yells from one of the parents. We put the birdhouse back up, brought the dog inside (kudos to you, Jock), and sat and listened for the parent to fly back into the house. No such luck. And no sounds from the babies. I went out a little later and heard something inside the house, but couldn't see it. Probably a baby getting hungry and trying to fly.

Okay, this is getting too sad. That's where I'm at right now. But, as my mom gently reminds me, "it's nature at work." So, we just hope you come back next year, chickadees, to raise a fresh batch of babies.