Birds and blooms................

........can you believe this great nest our phoebe bird has built on top of the night spotlight?!! She built here last summer and raised three batches of babes; I hope she will do it again this year. One year I grieved with her; something (a snake?) had climbed the rough brick wall and torn most of the nest down and some baby birds. She's a determined little soul, just think of how many trips she makes to the pond (down in front of the house 500 feet away!) to bring little beaksful of mud and straw!!! It's amazing to watch her. I am in awe of Mother Nature!
..........and check out this huge azalea bloom! It measures a little over three inches across! I'm not especially fond of the azaleas with huge blooms; I don't know why. They're ALL beautiful after a long and dreary winter! I just like the varieties that have hundreds of smaller blooms with double layers of petals, and when the bush blooms, there are hardly any leaves to be seen! I'm just greedy for spring...........and thankful for every single living thing that has survived our drought.