Saturday, May 9, 2009

A Letter From a Young Tufted Titmouse to her Mama on Mother’s Day

Dear Mama,
I wish you could see our new nesting cavity. It’s in a lovely old tree growing at the foot of a dark, shaded hillside. I can hear the river flowing past, as it’s just a short flight across a little foot trail. A small brook cascades down rocks in our backyard. Little pools form among the rocks, and we go there to drink and splash around a bit. It’s a cozy little homey-home with an adorable moss-covered entryway. Virginia Creeper is climbing up the right side of the trunk and looks very pretty. When I’m away hunting down caterpillars for the babies (an endless job, mom! How did you do it?), a sweet Wood Thrush who lives about 20 feet away serenades the little ones with his beautiful, flute-like tones. Everywhere I look I see beauty. Charming little lavender flowers are at the base of our trunk growing in the dark, moist soil. Although I did all the brooding, my mate is very helpful and forages for insects and feeds the babies too. He is a very good father! Well, I had better get back to foraging. The caterpillars are plump and juicy this year. I think the babies like the bright green wiggly ones the best.
Happy Mother’s Day, mom! I love you…
Little Mama Titmouse












...and Happy Mother's Day to all the
mamas out there, especially you, mom!

24 comments:

  1. So sweet Kelly!!! Very clever and the pictures add to it. Happy Mothers Day!

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  2. ...Thanks, Kim! I like your new photo!!

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  3. Wonderful photographs of the Titmouse Mom. Brings to mind that perhaps raising our human children wasn't so hard after all.

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  4. What a cute little story!! Those little birds are so cute and personable. I love mine!! They sure do have many different sounds. I was amazed. Happy Mother's Day kelly!

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  5. Big applause! Great, original post. I reckon if they could, that's just what they'd be saying.
    Lovely pictures to go with it too.

    Happy Mothers Day to you, and all the mothers who stop by your blog. :)

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  6. Happy Mothers Day to you Kelly! Great post. I have a pair of titmouse that have been coming to the feeders this spring - such cute and fun birds to watch.

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  7. Love this ickle story, and the birds are just sooo cute
    Debbie
    Ps Happy Mothers Day :o)

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  8. Nice way to present mother's day - watching the birds always reminds me what a task parenting is!

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  9. Such a warm and loving post, Kelly - outstanding! And a very happy Mother's Day to you as well! Love the creativity!!

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  10. Happy Mother's Day, Kelita. Lovely story, wonderful pics. I know your mom is very proud of you. God bless you!
    Hugs.

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  11. Ahhhh...how sweet that is! Wonderful Mother's Day writing.

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  12. Very sweet Kelly. The photos are great. Have a Happy Mother's Day!
    Mona

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  13. Beautiful post Kelly.
    Happy Mother's Day!

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  14. Oh how lovely. I just love the color and the light in these photo's.

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  15. Ah, sweet letter home. Excellent photos of this wonderful little bird.

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  16. Great series. I love the photo of the bird just disappearing into the tree cavity.

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  18. Beautiful post. And your photos came out so nice and clear.

    There is a hole high up in the neighbor's big old maple tree which has something in it but the leaves cover it so I am not able to see what it is.

    My Birds Blog

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  19. I love the titmouse story--what a nice sentiment for Mother's Day. The photographs go well with your story too.

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  20. Well Kelly, another set of fantastic pictures to complement the narrative, Phil

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  21. This is a great post! I love the little story and the photos are wonderful too. I have a hard time photographing the titmice here. Seems I end up with a lot of rear-view shots. LOL I've been leaving mealworms out which they really enjoy, but I can't see where they are taking them. How wonderful that you can see their nesting activity! Happy Mother's Day, Kelly!

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  22. I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day. Thank you for all the kind words. It's sort of fun to "play" around with bird stories...fitting real-life with imagination.

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  23. wow. kelly these are great. we never see titmice at our home but they are all over illinois. we seem to see everything but ...
    great photos.
    nikonsniper

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