An Irritating Expectant Mother!

This used to be my favorite floral arrangement which I made last fall at a special event organized by my garden club.  The experienced members offered advice so it would be perfect.  It hung on the front porch beside the door so I could enjoy it whenever I passed by.  My plan was to remove the fall colors and replace them with spring colors.  It didn't happen because an irritating expectant mother ruined everything!

The first time I realized something was amiss was when I noticed the silk flowers were askew.  Next, I discovered the bench seat held scattered chunks of moss that had been stolen from the pots of petunias.  Who would steal moss?

It was time to investigate.

On the back of the wreath was a brown house wren's bird nest made from the stolen moss and it held little eggs.  I gently hung it up.

Then our lives changed.  Plans were canceled to remake the arrangement, pressure wash the siding, clean the windows and recover the cushions on the lounge chair.  Everything came to a grinding halt because of the irritating expectant mother!  We learned to open the front door slowly because it would startle her which caused her to fly out of the nest only inches from our head and startle us!  The furniture had to be shifted to the other side of the porch to avoid her droppings.  She is lacking in housekeeping skills. When she began flying back and forth constantly, we knew it was feeding time for the noisy little ones so we had to keep a close eye on Scooter.  

Finally, it was quiet.  She had flown the coop, leaving her dirty apartment behind.  It was a relief to know she had left the neighborhood and I could begin sprucing up my porch.  We waited a while then checked the nest again.  Everyone was gone except for a single bad egg - every family has one.  Before she could return, I razed her home and threw it in the burn pile.  I should not be a snob but instead, welcome all to my neighborhood.  However, she is just too irritating.

As I went to the shed to get the cleaning supplies, I noticed Scooter acting oddly and tracking the area.  He was looking at something in the shed.

It's HER!  She is back!  She has built another nest and this one is in my tool shed!  I will not tolerate this again!  I am knocking her nest down, cleaning up this second mess, and evicting her permanently!

Oh no, too late.  She's done it again!  Sigh.

I suppose we could leave the shed door open for her and move the tools to the garage.  It will only be for a little while.

The story of the babies hatching

A Birth Announcement

Additional mischievous escapades

The Irritating Expectant Mother Returns to Bother Me Again!

An Irritating Expectant Mother and Her Family