Snake in a Box

Peek-a-boo!

No, "Snake in a Box" isn't a Saturday Night Live song by Justin Timberlake.  This is what Bill encountered while we were in Ashville, North Carolina in May during our annual vacation trek to my father's roots in the mountains of western North Carolina.

I was at the church cemetery in Asheville where my great-great grandmother Martha "Patty" Bailey Tipton Cooper was buried.  I was there to take a photo of her headstone as well as fulfilling other Find a Grave.com requests.  While I'm taking photos of gravestones, Bill usually wanders around the cemetery, looking at headstones and patiently waiting for me to finish taking my photos.  By the way, do you know of anybody else who would be that patient with me?  Me neither.

Bill found a bluebird house, much like the ones we have in our backyard.  He took a peek in the bluebird house and was surprised to find a big black snake looking right back at him!  So the myths about snakes eating bluebird eggs (or even live baby bluebirds, God forbid) is probably true.

Bill made it his mission to get that snake out of the bluebird box.  Scary stuff.  I took a short video which I posted in an earlier blog which you may or may not have seen.  I missed taking the video when Bill flung the snake out of the box.  Did I ever!  That was some BIG SNAKE!  And it happened so fast.  So I missed the video.  However, I thought I had taken some photos also.  This morning while searching my photo files I came across these photos of Bill's encounter with THE SNAKE.  Scary stuff huh?

And just for the record, Bill didn't kill the snake.  He just got it out of the box.  It slithered (fast) on the ground near the bird box to the woods nearby.  I never saw a snake move so fast.

Mission accomplished Bill!

Bill gets the snake out

Bring it On

This morning the battle begins anew with the house sparrows.



Bill told me that the bluebirds were back trying to get into their house that they have built their nests in the past two years. I have three bluebird houses in my backyard. The bluebirds prefer the house that is next to my neighbor Tom’s white PVC fence.

The past two years the bluebirds were able to fend off the sparrows but not this year. I tapped off their house after I came back one day last week and found a dead swallow in the bluebird that the sparrow had killed. I knew the sparrow had killed it because after I returned from work and started to pull open the front of the bluebird house, the sparrow darted out. I looked in the bluebird house and there was the dead swallow, the top of its head bare and bloodied. The poor creature had been pecked to death.

The sparrows started to build their nest in another one of the bluebird houses. I am going to let them build their nest to keep them occupied. My hope was that they would forget about the bluebird house that is next to my neighbor’s fence. Again, I underestimated the determination of the sparrow. As soon as I took the tape off of the box this morning the sparrow was over there checking out the accommodation. And not only that, he was chasing the bluebird away from the other bluebird house that the bluebirds were now checking out.

I had no other choice but to tape up the prime bluebird box. I’m taking a chance in letting the bluebirds and the sparrows fight it out for the other box. I won’t be able to monitor their activity today because I’m going to work this afternoon. But I do have tomorrow off. Thus the battle continues between me and the sparrows. One this is certain. There will be no sparrow eggs hatched on my property this year just as there were none hatched last year.

The bluebirds were able to raise two batches of young bluebirds last year just as they had done the previous year. However, I’m not if they will be able to raise any young this year. The sparrows really seem determined. I think part of the problem is my neighbor on the other side of my property took down his purple martin house to keep the sparrows out. I think I’m getting his overflow.

The sparrows are fighting a losing battle with me. I estimated I threw out about 18 sparrow eggs with their nesting last year. This year I’m going to wring some sparrow necks. My message to the sparrows this year…bring it on.

And Then There Were None

Bill had a very trying day today. He called The Garage and his car still wasn't ready. He asked me to drop him off at The Garage at 12 noon and he would wait for it. Yesterday was our day to go to the Sam's Club in Dover, thirty nine miles away. We would have to do it today. But first, Bill had to get his '91 Jeep Cherokee out of The Garage. Of course when he went down they hadn't even started on the repairs. They did when they saw he was waiting. Two and a half hours later they told him they were finished. Frustrated, Bill paid the bill and stormed out of The Garage. Note, I refer to "The Garage" that way because that is the name of the auto repair business we patronize on Route 1, across from The Hampton Inn in Rehoboth Beach.

On the way home Bill noticed his "Check Engine" light was still on. They hadn't fixed the main reason he went in! That's why he took his car to The Garage. They found the brake problem when they took his car around the back of their place. A brake hose or something like that blew (I know I don't have that right but it was something drastic like that.) Well, the upshot is that Bill is so frustrated with this place he doesn't want to go back. Thus, in that mood we took off to Dover.

Before we left I wanted to check the bluebird box. I heard and saw more than the usual activity around the bluebird box and as I suspected, all the baby bluebirds were out save one. I took his/her picture before we left for Dover.

On the way to Dover we noticed that the traffic headed south was backed up. Ah yes, this is Friday afternoon when The Horde (tourists, weekenders, etc) descend on our fair beaches in coastal Sussex County. As year round residents we know to avoid travel on Route 1 both north and south on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. These are the days of the travel vans, SUV's and car with bike racks full on the back, and the young girls driving shotgun with their flip flop shod feet propped up on the dashboard ("Hey! We're at the beach! Time to relax and let loose and show everyone I'm one cool chick!") Oh how we love it. But, these are the folks that keep the economy going so I shouldn't be complaining. However I did see a cool bumper sticker:

"Welcome to the beach. Now go home."

Shopping at Sam's Club was extra fun today with the late Friday afternoon crowd. We never experienced that before and we don't plan to again anytime soon. Usually we go very early during a weekday morning but our schedule has been thrown all off kilter because of Bill's car getting repaired. On the way back we had to stop at the Super Wal-Mart in Milford because that is the ONLY PLACE in Lower Slower that I can get my Turkey Hill Decaf Orange Diet Ice Tea. THE ONLY PLACE. Again, shopping in Wal-Mart Friday afternoon is an extra special experience. The people, the people. I wonder sometimes do I look as strange and weird to them as they do to me? Man oh man. There are some doozies that shop at the Wal-Mart, especially the Jabba the Huts riding around on those motorized shopping carts in the store.

Returning home we were right in the middle of the Friday afternoon weekend rush to the shore. One thing I've never been able to quite figure out, what is the rush? Why do so many of our out of state tourists feel they have to break the speed limit, weave in and out of traffic to get to the shore to relax? What's THAT all about?

Well, we finally got home. Now it's unwind time. I checked the bluebird box and, as I suspected, it is empty. The last bluebird is out. That puts a punctuation mark to a very interesting day.

Then There Were Four

First thing when I returned home from Pennsylvania yesterday was check my bluebird box. Ah ha! As I suspected, it now contained four perfect blue oval eggs. The second batch of bluebirds is on its way!

The Purple Martin house is fully occupied with Purple Martins raising their young. One of the other bluebird houses is occupied by a swallow and her four perfect white eggs, which will hatch any day now. The house sparrows have found nesting places on nearby properties because I see them all around. I saw several dozen flitting about in their normal raucous activity as I took my walk a few nights ago. All is well in the bird habitat in our little corner of the world here on the Delmarva peninsula.

Ah One and Ah Two!

My resident bluebirds have begun their second batch. Yesterday the first egg was laid. This morning another pastel blue egg was added to their neat nest. By the time I get back Thursday I expect to see two more additional eggs in their nest.

Tomorrow I'm going to Pennsylvania to visit my Mom and attend the graduation ceremonies for the DHS Class of 2009 as a 50th anniversary guest. In a way I really don't want to go because I love my home here in Delaware so much I hate to miss even one day. But I do have some business to take care of in Pennsylvania and I would like to attend that graduation ceremony. There is only one time that I have the opportunity to be a 50th anniversary guest (DHS Class of 1959) and I don't want to pass up the opportunity. I'll take pictures and maybe even a video or two. We'll see. I just hope this isn't a bust and I'm viewed as some ancient fossil. Actually, I don't care if I am. I just think it will be interesting. Of course I'll probably be the only member of my class who attends.

This morning I found a new plant place. It's called the Sandy Hill Greenhouse and it's on Sand Hill road, about ten miles from where I live. I loved it. This nursery is my new plant center. Mark the owner was talking to me and he said this is his second year in the retail business. Prior to this he was in the wholesale business but decided to make a go of it in the retail trade. He said so far this year business has been slow but I predict he will do very well. He has a big nursery with a large selection and all his plants are healthy and vibrant. I told him his business will build by word of mouth. When we Plant People find a good place we put the Word out. I was advised by my friend MJ in Milton to check out this garden center. Thank you MJ!

I took the drive this morning to see if my check engine light came on again. It did. In fact it was on the whole time I went up and came back. When I got home I called my garage and told them of the problem. They told me to bring the car down. I go out to my car, turn it on and the check engine light isn't on now. This is going to drive me crazy. So I called The Garage (yes folks, that is the name of my garage) and told them that the check engine light wasn't on now. Hmmm.

There always seems to be some little nagging thing like this to get on my nerves. I'm going to have to put this out of my mind and enjoy my trip to PA tomorrow. What's good about my trips to PA is that I always come back here, my beautiful home in Delaware. To me each day I spend here is like a vacation day. I love it!

New Bluebird Nest!

New bluebird nest





















Purple Martin eggs




We have a new bluebird nest! After a delay of about ten days, mama and papa bluebird have built a new, neat nest. The bluebird pair is apparently the same because the Biggest Bluebird I’ve Ever Seen, is again perched atop the bluebird box. Of course there were a few forays into the bluebird box by the errant house sparrow but the Biggest Bluebird I’ve Ever Seen quickly took care of that unwelcomed intruder.

In a day or two I expect to see four small blue bluebird (what other color would they be?) eggs in the new bluebird nest. In about a month the new baby bluebirds will be grown and out exploring their new world just like their sisters and brothers are doing now.

The swallows have built a nest in one of the other bluebird houses. Their pure white eggs are nestled in another neat nest lined with white feathers. It’s interesting that each bird has its own unique nest. The Purple Martins don’t build so much of a nest as they line the bottom of their aluminum compartment with broad pieces of straw. The Purple Martin eggs are also pure white. Only the house sparrow eggs are a tan with brown dots. The house sparrow nests are a mess. Everything and anything is in their nest from trash to straw and plastic.

The Purple Martins quickly claimed the last compartment in their tall six apartment birdhouse when I removed the sparrow nest on Monday. From what I can tell the Purple Martins have already raised one batch of young ones and are now working on the second batch. I think the Purple Martins only raise two batches of young ones before they leave for the season.

This year, for the first time, both of the gourds hanging beneath the Purple Martin house area occupied by swallows. One gourd was occupied by another Taliban sparrow but it only took two cleanings to get that sparrow out of there. I think the house sparrows took up in my neighbor’s birdhouses.

Each evening Bill and I sit out on our deck and watch the Purple Martins sort out their pecking order. We enjoy their graceful swooping of the swallows over our back yard looking for a meal. The bluebirds seem to be more preoccupied with guarding their nest and feeding their young. They make no noise at all whereas the Purple Martins are always squawking about something. We will miss them all when they leave later this summer. Then the quiet in our backyard will be deafening.

Reflections on a Rainy Friday Afternoon

Yesterday was cloudy. Today a gentle rain falls. While the rain is good for the local farmers it isn’t helping my energy level to do something around this house. Gray skies and rain has a way of doing that to my mood. While I like to hear the rainfall on the side of my house and watch the rivulets of water running down my windows, it doesn’t encourage me to attack my storage room downstairs in the basement and finish unpacking the boxes I moved down here in November 2006. Yes, I’m ashamed to admit it, but I still have unpacked boxes from our move from Pennsylvania almost 2 ½ years ago. I have to wait for the mood to hit me. That hasn’t happened yet.

I don’t have to go to work at the hotel until Monday so I have the whole weekend off. Unfortunately, rain is forecast for the next five days. Bill and I just about have the two new raised flowerbeds ready to be filled in with dirt. We will have to put that on hold until clear skies appear again over our southern Delaware skies. I also work next Friday at the hotel then I’m off until the Fourth of July weekend in which I work those three days in a row. That means I’m off a whole three weeks! I would love to visit my brother in South Carolina and take a swing up to my dad’s roots in the hills of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, near Johnson City, Tennessee. However, I don’t have the money for such a trip nor the energy. I think at 67 I am beginning to wear out.

Yesterday I called my Aunt Mabel who is 87 years old. She’s not doing well. I remember something she told me years ago. She said she knew she was getting old when she was 72. She said that was when she realized she didn’t have the boundless energy she had all of her life prior to that year. My Mother said something similar around the same age. After hoeing eight rows of corn in my Dad’s vegetable garden, she told me “Ronnie, I just can’t do this anymore.” I now understand whereof my aunt and Mother speak. Yesterday I put in a good two hours digging up the area for the two new raised flower beds. It just about killed me. I took a two hour afternoon nap to recoup my strength. This is scary because I’m only 67. There was a time when I thought 40 was old. Of course that’s when I was 22 years old. Now that I’m an Old Geezer I think 67 is young. Ha! Actually I don’t feel bad about getting old but there definitely are more aches and pains now that I’m approaching my eighth decade on this earth.

Not to change the subject, but I will. The bluebirds haven’t set up their new household yet but I think that is because the bluebird parents are still looking after their previous batch. Yesterday afternoon I saw several bluebirds flying around my neighbor’s house. However, as the picture on this blog attests, the Big Bluebird is sitting atop the bluebird house. He has been chasing away all potential tenants such as the Taliband House Sparrow and swallows. I predict within two weeks a new bluebird nest will be full of five tiny blue eggs. This is one my great joys of living where I do so I can have a backyard habitat to provide a safe and secure nesting location for the bluebirds.

Yesterday I pulled down the Purple Martin house to check to make sure there weren’t any dead baby Purple Martins like I found last year. Two of the apartments had baby Purple Martins. They were so quiet when I open the front door to their apartment. The other apartments had nesting material but were empty of baby Purple Martins. As I suspected, those young Purple Martins had already taken wing. It’s interesting to see them learn to fly. At first they venture out only a few feet before they fly back to the Purple Martin house. Eventually, they soar higher and further out from the house until they’re just a speck in the distance. I don’t know how many Purple Martin batches there are but I do know they make the back yard come alive with their lively cacophony of noise.

The rain is falling against the window like it does in the movies. This is a good time to snuggle up to a good book in my bed and drift off to a Friday afternoon nap. Life is good in southern Delaware, even when it rains.

Then There Was One Left

Yesterday afternoon, as Bill was preparing to mow the lawn he noticed an increase in activity around the bluebird house. He went over to the bluebird house and saw a baby bluebird hiding in the cover at the base of the bluebird house. Bill came in and told me that one of the baby bluebirds was out of the box and asked me if I wanted to take pictures. I got my camera and rushed outside.

I had suspected that the baby bluebirds would be out ("pop") of their box and that is just what happened. The baby bluebirds were out trying their new wings. From my experience with raising two bluebird batches from this same box last year I knew that the baby bluebirds didn't fly right out of the box and into the wild blue yonder. They take a day or two flopping around in the ground cover and shrubbery around the bluebird box until their wings are ready for full flight. That is what was happening yesterday afternoon.

I cautioned Bill not to disturb the baby bluebirds too much or else they would flop right through the fence that separates our property from our neighbor's property. My neighbor doesn't have any ground cover for the baby bluebirds but he does have two dogs which he lets out in the afternoon. Those dogs would make quick work of any baby bluebird flopping around in panic on the ground in my neighbor's back yard mined with stale dog poop.

As I usually do when the baby bluebirds exit their box, I checked the box. Much to my surprise I discovered one baby bluebird was still in the box. Cowering in the corner of the poop filled bluebird box, the poor thing seemed to know it missed the train. This baby bluebird must have been in back of the bird box and didn't get feed as much as the other three baby bluebirds in the box. I did notice that the baby bluebird nearest the entrance was the biggest. I'm sure the parents tried to get food to the babies in the back but this little one must have really been far back. More proof that the random chance of birth order has consequences.

Initially I was concerned that the parents would forget the one baby bluebird left in the box but I'm sure they have encountered this situation before. The adult bluebirds continue to feed the three baby bluebirds that are out of the box. Bill has seen them also feed the one remaining baby still in the house. Maybe today the little one will join its brothers and sisters outside and start on its life adventure in this wonderful but dangerous world. This is the one time I'm glad I don't have cats that are roaming the grounds.

Baby Blue Birds

The baby blue bird eggs have hatched. All five of them. This is the second year the blue birds have nested in on of the three blue bird boxes I have bordering my backyard. It is the same box they nested in last year. They raised two batches of baby blue birds, five at a time, last year. They don't nest in the other two boxes. Occasionally the sparrows build make a half hearted effort to build a nest in the other blue bird houses but don't follow through. They prefer one of the apartments in the Purple Martin house. And that isn't happening no matter how many times they build their nest. But that is a subject for another blog.

This morning Bill and I visited the East Coast Garden Center near Millsboro on Rt. 24. I saw a pair of perfect rhododendron plants which I prompty purchased. I brought them back and planted them on the north side of our house, which gets some sun, but not a lot of sun which is what rhododendron plants prefer. Now that side of our house is complete. The pink of the rhododendron plants will perfectly compliment the cream color of the house.

It is humid this morning so I had to take a shower after I was done. I'm going to work this afternoon and the next three days. Yes, another marathon work schedule. Normally I work Mondays only but this weekend I'm filling in for Monica who wants to spend more time with her son before he ships off to Iraq next week. On Tuesday my co-workers Bob leaves for his first trip to Ireland. I would have liked to visit my Mother this Mother's Day weekend but that will have to wait until maybe next week.

I am so glad the baby blue birds have hatched. Now the summer season is official.

Hot Monday

Another hot day today. This was one of those rare Mondays I didn't have to work at the hotel. First thing I did this morning was clean out the three sparrow nests in my Purple Martin house. I've been doing this for the past week, daily. Purple Martins are occupying the top three apartment of the six apartment birdhouse but the English Sparrow insists on building nests in the lower three apartments. That's not going to happen. First thing in the morning I tear out the nests. I don't want to have to wait until they lay eggs then tear out their nests but if that is what is necessary, I'll have to do that. The man who put up my Purple Martin house last year did just that. He threw the nest, eggs and all, in the adjoining corn field. The pesky sparrows didn't come back. They got the message....go somewhere else.

I have three blue bird houses. Two have sparrow nests in them which I haven't bothered. They apparently aren't bothering with them either, preferring the Purple Martin house. The third blue bird house is occupied by blue birds as it was last year. There are five perfect blue eggs in their neat nest as I type this blog. Earlier, there was one egg (they lay one a day) but it was taken out by someone and tossed to the ground, punctured. I suspect it was one of the aggressive house sparrows. Fortunately, the blue birds have fought off the sparrows and have been able to lay their five eggs. This same blue bird house last year saw two batches of bluebirds raised. We're off to a good start this year already. I will keep the readers of this blog posted on the progress of the blue birds.

This morning I made my first plant trip to Peppers, a nearby local nursery. This is my favorite time of year, deciding what plants to buy and planting them. At one time when I was much younger I thought I would like to have a house with an in ground swimming pool. How foolish I was. I enjoy nothing better in my doddering old age than fussing around with my raised flowerbeds. It is my favorite past time, maybe even exceeding blogging.

This morning I purchased Roma tomato plants, impatients, sweet alyssum, sage, basil, and lavender plants. This is just the start of my planting season. Most of my perennials have come back from last year. I'm especially pleased with my Knock Out Rose bushes. I'm not sure about my Pampas grass. They're not looking "too pure" (as my Mother always used to say of plants that didn't look like they were going to come back.) I may have to replace them this year. I love the gracefulness of a full Pampas plant but they are a pain to cut back in the spring.

I received more comments on my blogs about my Census address canvasser job. Apparently I'm not the only one who had problems with the lack of training and high pressure of the job. Maybe I'm not the "lazy whiner" after all as one person called me after he/she posted a comment on my blog. Address canvassing for the census is a very hard job and I have all the respect in the world for those who are doing the job but it just wasn't for me. Not enough training, unreliable equipment, too many threats from the area manager, and I just didn't like tramping around strange people's front yards.

This evening was very pleasant. I met two friends in Rehoboth Beach for Mumbo Jumbo night at the Purple Parrot restaurant. Gone was the "Thundering Herd" as my friend Wayne calls them. The "Thundering Herd" are the weekend tourists of descend on Rehoboth Beach and the surrounding beach environs for a weekend of fun in the sun and a posing on the boardwalk. I shouldn't complain about them, they are the bread and butter of we the permanent year round residents. Unless you're into raising chickens in Sussex County, tourism is the only industry east of Route 1 in good old Lower Slower (aka Sussex County, Delaware.) We appreciate them and the money they leave behind but it is nice to travel roads not clogged with belching SUV's loaded down with bicycles, dashboards providing support for flip flopped feet, and dodging their aggressive driving. There is one sign as you enter Rehoboth Beach that says "Slow down, you are at the beach now" (or something like that.) These people need to relax. The ocean isn't going anywhere. They will get a parking spot. They're cool and they know it and they can't wait to show everyone else how cool they are, sauntering down Rehoboth Avenue with their oh so world weary attitudes.

Mumbo Jumbo Night at the Purple Parrot is a pound of char-grilled hamburger for $6.75 with all the fixins. The Purple Parrot is only one of two places that I know of in the Rehoboth Beach/Lewes area that cooks hamburger that tastes like hamburger. All of the other restaurants I've eaten in serve up the frozen, tasteless, overpriced, greasy beef patty delivered by the constant stream of Sysco trucks headed south on Route 1. If you want a good hamburger the only two places I know of are either the Purple Parrot in Rehoboth Beach or Gilligan's Restaurant in Lewes. Don't waste your money or time ordering a hamburger at any of the other restaurants unless you like grease burgers with no taste.

Yes, it was a good day today. Starting with my plants and ending with an enjoyable evening with friends. Nobody telling me what to do, nobody trying to save my soul, nobody putting guilt trips on me. That's one of the reasons why I moved to Delaware, to get away from all those toxic relationships. And I'm doing just fine.

Feathers

The baby bluebirds are no longer naked. See for yourself, they have developed feathers with a blue hue. I check the bluebird box every morning and I am amazed at how fast they are growing. Still not a peep out of them. When I open the front door box, the see a pair of big dark eyes looking at me. In this picture the main baby bluebird quickly took a peek and saw me then went right back to sleep. I think he's getting used to me peeking in his box every morning. Not to worry though, those big eyes open when Mama Bluebird stops by with a tasty morsel. This little bluebird will probably have a long journey ahead of him once he fully develops his feathers and is on his own. I don't know the migration patterns of bluebirds. It seems to vary by food sources and what is genetically implanted in the bluebirds. This is the second year that bluebirds have raised their young in this particular bluebird box. I have two other bluebird boxes surrounding the perimeter of my back yard but they don't seem to prefer those boxes. Perhaps they're facing in the wrong direction. Except for the occasional sparrow, those boxes remained empty during the summer season. Next year I will place another bluebird box on that side of my backyard. Perhaps I can attract another pair of mating bluebirds to raise their young. I now have other visitors to my backyard, humming birds. I don't know where their nest is but there are a lot of them. The humming bird feeder is placed on the railing of my back deck. That feeder receives a constant stream of visitors and needs to be refilled every day and a half. The humming birds are getting so used to me and Bill, that they don't even hum away now when we're out on the deck.

Then There Were Four

This morning I checked the bluebird house and now there are four!

Naked and defenseless now, they will soon sprout feathers and open those big beaks for their daily feedings by Mom and Pop bluebird. All my other accomplishments in life pale to what I'm able to do for this pair of bluebird parents, give them a helping hand in raising their young. Sometimes the best things in life are truly free.

Judy Checks The Bluebird Box

Yesterday, a friend of mine and her son stopped by to see the bluebird box in person. Four, perfect oval blue bird eggs were in the neat bluebird nest. Mom and Pop bluebird were nearby somewhere. They surely must know by now that I pose no harm to their nest. The Purple Martins have departed to where, I know not. I assume they will being to make their annual trek to Brazil where they will spend the winter. I have removed the tape from the entrances to the Purple Martin apartments. The sparrow immediately took up a position outside on of the entrances and started to chirp, advertising his availablity to make a family. So far no takers. Maybe it's too late in the season to start a new brood. I notice that my neighbor's Purple Martin house is also empty of Purple Martins. However, I do see the straw other junk sticking out of one of the doors, thus indicating a sparrow has already made a nest in one of the PM apartments. Grackles have been visiting most of the day today, dirtying up my birdbaths. For some reason, they like to go to the bathroom in the birdbaths. Later on, while I was out changing the water in the birdbaths, I heard a rustle at the base of one of the white pine trees that border my backyard behind the planters and birdbaths. A big, majestic Cooper's Hawk takes flight. I was wondering why there was so much commotion in the sky from the other grackles. As the hawk flew away, the much smaller birds harassed and dive bombed it. A few seconds later other grackles emerged from the base of the other white pines and flew away. Apparently the Law of Nature was taking its course until I interrupted it with my birdbath changing routine. Maybe that hawk will return and make that pesky sparrow his dinner.