Looks like we missed some eggs yesterday.

I thought we found all the eggs during our Easter egg hunt yesterday, but I was wrong. This morning I let Gangster out and noticed a couple birds were flying pretty low, and chattering at him a lot, they seemed ticked that he was there. I thought oh no, there must be a baby bird on the ground near by. They were really sticking by the area near the trampoline, so I called G into the house and crawled under the trampoline hoping to find the baby and get him to safety. I was looking and looking, just about to give up when I found a tiny surprise. A nest with 4 little eggs. Oh no.

Why, oh why Mommy and Daddy bird? Why would you pick a yard with 4 wild children and a big dog to build your tiny precious GROUND nest?!?! On top of that, you put it under the trampoline. I know it's judgey, but I started questioning their parenting skills immediately LOL. This is a dangerous area, in fact when the dog went to the bathroom this morning he dropped a bomb big enough to cover the entire nest not 5" from it...then walked back under the trampoline narrowly missing crushing it. Perhaps even more dangerous, a very curious 3 1/2 year old boy known for NOT being so gentle.

I took a few pictures then went in to research what these birds are and just what this is going to entail.
Here is the Daddy (darker head) and Mommy Dark-eyed Junco's. They are a type of sparrow, and a very common little bird. I also learned ground nests is what they do, so it seems these two aren't exceptionally bad decision makers in particular LOL.

The nest is on the ground just under the trampoline...if you can see that dandelion between the first and second tramp leg (from the left, closest to the 2nd leg) it is right there. Yeah, we need to mow...but we have been hit with a rainy week so the grass went a little nuts. That is probably when they built this nest...the kids jump on the trampoline every nice day, but we had a rainy 4 or 5 days there where we stayed inside. It is so funny how things work out...fate, everything happens for a reason or the butterfly effect, what ever you believe...had it not been rainy, the grass wouldn't be so tall and such good cover for a nest, the kids would have been outside more jumping on the trampoline possibly making the birds change their minds on nesting sites, and the dog would have been out there a lot more too, possibly walking on the nest or finding it and eating the eggs. Heck Jason was just under there yesterday grabbing a ball that rolled under there when they were playing baseball. Everything just worked out so this nest would be built here and it has managed to stay safe somehow...I really hope it makes it. The kiddos were jumping on the tramp yesterday though...and the birds are still here, so even though the trio agreed to give up jumping during this whole thing if Jericho won't cooperate I am hopeful the birds can handle it.

I spy a tiny nest!

4 sweet eggs. The eggs are laid 1 per day, so they have already been here at least 4 days. I can't believe they haven't been found...or accidentally crushed, by now.

Poor attempt at an artsy black and white LOL.

OK I got a little carried away snapping pictures...they are just so beautiful. I plan to check the nest once a day, so stay tuned...and keep your fingers crossed for a happy ending.

A penny for size reference...it is so tiny.

OK, backing away from the nest for today. Lily helped me clean the house a bit :)

Better run Gangster.

The kiddos are starting to take a real interest in our blog books/family albums. I have 2 more ready to print, but I have fallen way behind again...like 2 years behind LOL.

Xander said "Don't worry Mom, I will be very careful with your special book...it's very special right Mom?" Yes, dude...they take forever and are not cheap...please don't mess it up!

He was getting a kick out of all the old pictures in there.