hurricanecrab's WunderBlog
Bel Canto
Posted by: hurricanecrab, 20:23 GMT le 24 juin 2012 +8
Sometimes, you know, nature just up and smacks you in the face in a way that is wonderful and educational and enlightening.

Nearly a month ago, a Bananaquit was trying to build a nest above the dual exterior lights outside our house. I personally thought that was an ill-advised spot, since it was facing the predominant wind direction. She would put up a couple of strands of dry foliage, and the wind would take it down. I thought I'd give her a hand, and I put up a loose nylon net in a bush that was just six feet away and around the corner of the house, shielded from the wind, and most of the rain.

Well, she took to it, and started stuffing the net with cotton from a cotton bush, and dry pine needles (yes, we have Norfolk pine here) and within just a few days, the nylon was no longer visible. I also made a feeder and attached it above our seldom-used western door, and filled it with sugar water, just 14" from the nest.



Then the great deluge came, and we watched the bananaquit out our door, and while parts of the nest drooped from the rain, it seemed to be holding its own. Good construction. We had winds that gusted to 40 mph, and ten inches of rain in just two days.

We didn't see her for a couple of days, and wondered if she'd moved on or given up the nest.

And then........... just an hour ago, I saw the changing wind make the bush and the nest tremble, and there they were............ three trubadours, straining their little necks back and forth every time the nest trembled.



We didn't see mama for quite a while, and I wondered if I could feed them if she never showed up. What would she feed them? Bugs? Grubs? Would I have to chew them up first? :D

Thankfully, she just showed up to placate her three chicks. She fed them, stopped off at the feeder for a nosh and then off again.

Now, we're not people to interfere with nature, but at the same time, we feel part of the process, part of the fabric that makes up our nature, and ......... well......... everybody needs a helping hand sometimes.

Because Bananaquits seem to inhabit bushes more than trees and tend to fly low to the ground, they are often prey to cats. So, the lil' buggers get a hand up from us, and hopefully grow to leave the nest and make families of their own, as nature dictates.

Ain't life grand? I don't mind telling you, I'm pretty thankful, and appreciative that I don't have to chew up bugs for the chicks. Bugs without at least a basic basalmic butter sauce would be pretty horrid.

But I'd do it for the chicks.

Maybe.

 
 
Updated: 21:08 GMT le 02 juillet 2012   Permalink | A A A
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Wild
Posted by: hurricanecrab, 02:59 GMT le 14 mai 2012 +5
Yep, it's been a while since I've fired up a blog. You never know what will spark de ol' synapses -- a smell, a memory, maybe just the crush and spray of the sea on your face on an overcast and otherwise ordinary day. Before you wonder if perhaps I've finally taken a seven pound coconut impact to the head, I'll tell you that I'm really no more daft than ever. Missed you my friends! There. That's a truth. Lotta strife out there in the big ol' world, ain't the...
Updated: 01:40 GMT le 25 mai 2012   Permalink | A A A
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Natural Antivirals and Immune System Boosters....... plus warnings
Posted by: hurricanecrab, 14:55 GMT le 05 novembre 2009 +2
Hiya Wunderfriends!I've been involved in a whole herd of post-Paloma tasks, as well as the installation of a new solar array, and haven't been around much. It goes slow. (momentary mantra -- Break Apart, TS Ida, we've had enough.... break apart, TS IDA, we've had enough). I've missed you all a LOT! Things are getting more to where I should have time to spend with my WU family soon. Okay. As many of you know, the wellness strategy of myself and m'Bride is t...
Updated: 01:58 GMT le 21 janvier 2010   Permalink | A A A
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Legal Immunity Set for Swine Flu Vaccine Makers
Posted by: hurricanecrab, 14:27 GMT le 24 avril 2009 +2
NEW - 20 Jul 2009 Immunity for Flu Vaccine Makers same story, different source Same story, different sourceNEW - 20 Jul 2009 1918 and 2009 H1N1 Similarities Confirm RecombinationHopefully, we will be able to choose whether to accept the H1N1 vaccine. Current rumblings about mandatory vaccination are considered "foilhead" talk by some. I hope that's true. Perhaps now is the time to research and decide on your own. We all want the best and safest thing for our...
Updated: 14:15 GMT le 20 juillet 2009   Permalink | A A A
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Hurricane Systems Winners and Weiners
Posted by: hurricanecrab, 19:57 GMT le 25 Mars 2009 +2
Hurricane Supplies and Systems – Winners and WeinersHooooooooowwwwwwwwwdee!!! Mon, it’s GREAT to be back!!! You’ll have to bear with me; I’m a little excitable and I’ve contracted a case of internet withdrawl-induced exclamationosis!!!! <---- see?Before I detail the W&W report, I want to thank Collins for his diligent situation reports over the months. We could send email via my Bride’s crackberry, but couldn’t access Wunderground, just www.wun...
Updated: 13:54 GMT le 26 Mars 2009   Permalink | A A A
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