For The Birds

Walking to the cafe in my office building today, I stopped for a second to watch a robin pull a worm from the flowerbed. The creature hopped along for a little while then flitted over to a potted shrub near the front door. I took a closer look and was surprised to see a nest and several tiny chicks. I went back upstairs to grab my little camera and took a few pictures.

Mommy was none to pleased with this. And I didn't manage to get a really good shot either, since the nest was concealed pretty well, at least for such a small shrub. So I was kind of holding the camera above it and shooting blind.

None of this pleased mommy too much. After a few choice words she dive-bombed me. Luckily I am wearing glasses today, so her efforts to pluck my eyeballs from their sockets were futile. I backed to what I thought was a safe distance, but clearly I had enraged the female. She continued her aerial assualts, chasing me a good 50 feet down the sidewalk, at which point I ducked into the cafe where I would be safe.

In the first picture, you can just see mommy's head poking out from inside the shrub.

Close up of the nest, right before I was assaulted.




The housing complex where Mrs. Robin chose to raise her children. +5 points for guts and style. -32 points for the neighborhood.


Completely random non-sequitur: Behind the Counter is back. This was (is again) a really funny blog written by a customer service rep at a Wal-Mart in Anytown, USA. You will groan, laugh, and cry at his stories of the daily shenanigans he (she? I never quite figured that out) endures at the hands of Wal-Mart customers. A cynical yet hilarious perspective on the depressing behemoth that is bigger than ExxonMobil, probably bigger than Jesus. I think The Beatles are still the biggest, though.

The blog disappeared for a while as it's author had apparently gotten sick of it. Or maybe quit their job at Wal-Mart. But a new post appeared today, and it begins:

"I'm going to write again. I've made the decision."

So there it is. Enjoy.