Mouse Nest Made Of Feathers

It is too fantastic for words. It's made mostly of chicken feathers, and a little bit of hay. Bee-U-tee-ful.

XoxXOx

Hehyo Wittle Mouse!

When the chickens and guinea hens moved out the coop... somebody else moved in! Using the paper shreds and the feathers left behind this adorable mouse made the most beautiful nest ever (you know except if it had some glitter and sequins to work with). Mouser happens to be super friendly too, it popped out the nest to check me out :) --- and how cute is it dat a wittle feather is stuck on it's nose!!!?
Many people are terrified and grossed out by mice, maybe from some kind of biological, evolutionary junk caused by rat poop/fleas giving us horrible plagues... but as for now, no plagues are afoot and I would snuggle up with this little fur muffin if it would let me. My cat Toots though, would eat it - so probably sharing a bed together at night wouldn't work out anyway.
XoXo

Re-inhabited Bee Hive

Check out the big cool old bee nest that was hiding in the dark smelly silo! The more layers the more amazing it is to me - this one is about 1/3 the size of the largest I ever found, but even the tinest of these nests always sucks me into their miraculous construction. Or should I say meticulous? Fabulous? Insects sometimes seem to be the smartest creatures in the world, building such simple yet intricate homes - their lives are occasionally my envy. Never the length of it though.
This nest is now an apartment complex for ladybugs, micro centipedes, and a big long legged brown and black spider! The spider was aggressive and took me by surprise but didn't dare crawl onto my hand. He just went from layer to layer, in and out looking for a better place to hide from the flash of the camera. I decided to bring the whole gang inside the house with me and placed it in one of my plant pots. :)
XoXo

Mouse Nests

Animals are hunkering down for the winter, and the mice have built some really well insulated nests! These were found when lifting up various pieces of canvas that had been stored outside and were going to be used for a project...that is till the puffy spectacular mouse houses were discovered. This first nest was near a few colored tarps which ended up making it's nest speckled with brightly colored string. :) I like to think about how when our backs are turned the mice are pulling our fabric apart.
This second mouse nest was found under thicker tarp in a field near the pig pen. It had access to the canvas strings (or soft stuffing from the pig's blanket), hay & sticks.
Something to note about the way animals & birds build their houses is how airy, puffy and thick the walls are - and the way they weave into circles. These qualities are to insulate from cold winds - which originally baffled my trained human mind... I would have guessed without learning that the thicker tighter weave would keep me warmer, but it's not the case.
Maybe the critters are onto something too- with their natural built temporary houses - I doubt they get very attached and when it falls apart they build the next one... without paying a penny.
XoXo

Update: Baby Birds!

Ha ha! Now that is a face! Remember the baby bird nest with eggs, and then little featherless fuzzy babies... NOW they have feathers. I only saw 3 birds in the nest this time, and there used to be four?Maybe one was stuck underneath the others, cause that nest is getting little tight for these guys! In fact the one squeezed in the middle looks like he's about to complain about the accommodations, that and maybe the fact that it's frustrating to not be able to fly yet!
It's pretty cool how fast birds grow, how magically our bodies know how to grow into specific things like bone and feathers, eyes and a beak. The mysteriousness always sucks me in like a hoover vacuum! The last picture below is the design of the nest, which was built against the wall of a tent covered bamboo hut. The bird started from the bottom up actually making a foundation for the nest first- all the way up to the typical nesting shape at the top. Pretty cool how it was improvised to fit the environment she chose!
XoXOooo

Bird's Nest: From Eggs To Birth (dat means baby birds!)

This bird decided to make it's happy home underneath the flap of a tent, which required it to make a sort of tornado design starting from a tiny bottom to the wider nesting top! That takes alot of extra work, but obviously nature is an instinctual art. Moss and leaves for insulation on the outside and tightly woven twigs and grass on the inside to hold her brick red spotted eggs.
I had to get on Bort's shoulders to take these pictures while he held open the flap so I could see in!!
A few short weeks later... deep down in the nesting hole is something fuzzy and special. :)
They were all asleep cause it was early in the morning, they didn't make a sound or hardly move. Just a little half open eye and slight wiggles. I had to stand on a chair and make it quick so that the mama bird didn't go into terrible panic.
I mean, oh my gawd. No words for the Keeeeyyyyyy-UTE-ness.
XoXOOxoxooxxoxxo So many kisses to these birdies I don't even know!

Bird's Nest Under A Bridge

Yesterday I went down the road to play at a creek that runs under a bridge. A magical spot that had thick groves of native plants (lilies & elderberries), raccoon footprints in the mud, a smooth rock waterfall, a wittle crawfish, and da' cutest perfect bird's nest nestled neatly in the steal bars above my head. Look closely in the picture above and you can see the nest looking like a pile of bleck on the silver painted metal that holds the bridge together.Close up the nest was made of moss and mud on the outside, and snuggley twigs & weeds on the inside - making it look like a warm insulated place to be born. I didn't really expect there to be eggs in there since I didn't see a mama bird - I happily got on my nature comrade's shoulders so I could take a close up picture...Check it out, 5 whole little eggs all wrapped in super adorableness! I plan on going back to see if they hatch and what kind of bird these are from. :)

xoxo

Hornets Nest

Check out this glob of danger! All these hornets were sitting calmly on the nest vibrating their wings, and tucking in for the evening. There were two separate nests -the large one and the smaller new one right next door (guess there was a break in the community?) These guys are always on my porch pollinating all my plants but their nest is out back under the eaves of the shed. We are very good friends. :) Do you feel scared...like maybe I got too close? I probably did.