I got to sit on the front porch for a few minutes this morning. Finally. And I got excellent news!
A familiar chirp told me to look up. And oh happy day, there were barn swallows scoping out the area. I love watching them swooping around and eating bugs. I don’t mind the two nests they rebuild every year, either. It’s our thanks for their services.
As I was looking for a swallow to take a photo of (failed), I saw another familiar friend, our loggerhead shrike. These guys take care of larger bugs for us and leave them impaled on barbed wire fences. I wrote a lot about them when I went on a field trip looking for them at last year’s Master Naturalist conference.
One reason I love porch sitting is the easy bird watching. I’ve seen a red-tailed hawk, black buzzards, mockingbirds, and of course, the field sparrows, too. I hear crows. I sure wish my laptop battery wasn’t dead, so I could do my work outside.
The Hermits' Rest 