Bird Nest

 For two weeks, we thought Colby was afraid of the deck. Maybe he got stung by a bee, or fell when the boards were wet. He didn't want to walk on it and would stare at the boards intently, like they were going to move out from under him.

I lured him outside with cheese and hot dogs. Finally got him to the point where he'd walk on the boards again. He'd still stare intently like he didn't trust it, but it was progress.

To torment Colby, the hubby grabbed a small twig and went under the deck to poke at the dog. You know, just in case his fear wasn't completely solidified.

The joke's on us.  Turned out the dog wanted to eat the birds that were 4 inches under his feet. I think at first he didn't understand what the smell was, or the chirping. We could only hear it after we knew to listen for it.

After the hot dogs and cheese, he may have associated the birds with food. My bad.

It is the perfect spot for a nest. Nothing can get at these chicks. No predators can fit through the deck's lattice. Nothing can get at them from the top.

They are sheltered from the wind and rain. The worst thing to happen is a dog barking 4 inches from them and salivating a river. Okay, that sounds pretty horrible. But they're fine.

Hubby even donned some gloves and put a chick back in the nest after it fell out. We're good landlords.

They are getting pretty big. Any day now they will leave the nest.

Have to say, I'm looking forward to that. My dog won't look quite so insane.