A Leprechaun, Vanity, and Pork Chops (Finally)

I went to pick up Little One from preschool today and instead was asked to take home this leprechaun for the day. Her teachers said it was some sort of child-leprechaun exchange program. I figured why not participate- maybe Little One will come home with a pot of gold when I get her back.

A mighty cute leprechaun- Wednesday, March 14.

We have a female cardinal who has taken to positioning herself on some perch on our deck (it had most popularly been the grill, until we moved it yesterday) and then repeatedly flying into the sliding glass doors. From what I have read, this is a fairly common behavior, particularly for cardinals and robins during mating season. It is believed that these birds do not have the ability to differentiate between a rival bird and their own reflection (even after repeated personal contact with the glass), so they continue to attack themselves over and over. I was a bit concerned for the overall safety of the bird, and was only slightly comforted when I read the following: "Despite the violent appearance of this behavior, from the other side of the window, the birds very rarely kill themselves, all though there could be injury to the bird's beak if the behavior continues."

Here is a still shot of her just about to crash into the glass door- Taken Saturday, March 3.

This is my first attempt at posting a video. Here's hoping it works. Female Cardinal attacking the door- Saturday, March 3.

But then this morning, I heard a familiar sound at the front window, though more subdued than usual. When I went to investigate, I found a cute little female cardinal, perched on the window sill quietly tapping on the glass. No violent, life-threatening approaches, just a quiet flight in, some pecks on the glass, and a curious eye. There was clearly no motive of scaring away a rival bird this morning. I think she was flying in to check herself out. Territory all defended, she wanted to be sure she was looking her best for the potential suitors who might come her way. Vanity suits this bird, she is a beauty. And I was very glad to see her feeling quiet and pretty instead of like she wanted to bang her head against the wall- Wednesday, March 14.

 The pork chops. They were worth the wait- Wednesday, March 14.