Over the past couple of weeks, we have been inundated by an invasion of caterpillars.  At first, it was cool - there were just a couple here and there.  Now, it’s like walking through a battleground, and an obstacle course to avoid stepping on them.

I know the damned things literally fall out of trees as the wind blows, and I went in search to find where the bulk of the caterpillars were coming from.

Click on the picture at left to see but one of several “nests” that I uncovered out back.

I was totally appalled.

Tent caterpillars.  Destructive, nasty-moth evolving, plant-eating, pesky moths.  I’ve been told the only way to destroy a nest is to torch using lighter fluid.

To boot, I just planted a herb garden on my patio.  Gonna have to find something to spray my garden and other plants with to detract them.

Any suggestions?

(click picture above to view the full size image)

A picture says a thousand words. It’s also the last of this series.

I’ve been blogging about the Robin’s nest we discovered over the weekend - right outside on the patio in the birdhouse - and chronicling the activities as we’re seeing them happen.

Saturday, we discovered the nest, but didn’t realize it was being occupied. Then, Sunday afternoon, we saw an egg. And then Monday afternoon, we saw another egg. Last night the momma bird tended to the clutch, lovingly staying there all night, incubating her eggs. And then she flew off in the early morning after I woke up.

I was anxious to come home today to see what would await me in the nest. I wasn’t prepared for what I found.

Instead of three eggs in the nest, I saw one. Looking around the birdhouse, I caught the sight of two broken eggshells on the ground. It seems the momma bird did lay a third egg. But some time after that, something came along and snatched two of them out of the nest, leaving only the cracked shells.

I was very sad, but realized it was the forces of nature at work.

Well, I haven’t seen the momma bird return to her nest. Not sure what to make of it, since she was in and out last evening, and night. But, I’m hopeful I’ll see her again in the morning.

I woke up early this morning to the see the sun shining and hear birds singing outside my window. And as I laid there in bed soaking in the sun and songs, I thought - yes, Happy Mother’s Day!

Making my way to the kitchen, I made some coffee and grabbed a cereal bar, my iPhone and camera, then headed outside on the patio to sit at my new bistro set and enjoy the quiet and newness of the morning. As I passed by my desk, I saw a card made out to “Mom,” picked it up and walked outside.

Sitting down at the table, I opened the card - “Mom I know you love a bargain … so I got you this cheap-assed card. I know this is a proud moment for you.” …Hope you have an AMAZIN Mother’s day and enjoy your lawn furnishings (lol). Love, Nick.

Indeed, he’s a funny boy!

In case you didn’t guess, him and his father bought me a new bistro set for Mother’s Day. And I LOVE it!

So, I’ve got my camera and I’m taking some pictures of a bird’s nest that I discovered yesterday. The nest is empty, and I wonder how long it’d been there. (This was the first time I’d spent any time outside since winter.)

A familiar sound caught my attention and, as I looked up, I saw a cardinal in the tree next to me.

I tried to get a picture but couldn’t clearly focus on him since I only had in the 50mm lens.

This was the best I could get. I waited to see if a female was anywhere around thinking, maybe this was their nest. But, alas, no female showed up.

By now, Gar’s come by and I’m hungry for breakfast. So we decide to go grab something to eat at a local diner, while Nick stays home to sleep. After breakfast, we pick up Nick and go over the flower shop for some hanging baskets of something that will grow in the semi-dark caverns area of my back yard.

When we walk around the back, I see a bird in the nest, and she flies off upon seeing us. I walk over by the nest and peek inside. There’s a blue egg! A blue Robin’s egg. Only one.

As I later discovered, they lay one a day until their clutch is finished, and then begin the incubation process. Cool!

Later in the day, we grilled and the guys hung out in the hammock, trying to balance both of them on it at once. Quite entertaining.

Hope you had a great Mother’s Day!