John, flowers, and poor little momma bird

This is what we have been up to lately.

Yes, John is home! After having been gone for THREE months, he is now home. We felt prompted that it was time to come home, so he came. And, we couldn't be more excited.

And, Paul has found a new favorite past time. He loves to bring me flowers. If only it were something more than dandelions. I guess that would mean I would have to be growing something other than dandelions, but that would be someone else's house.

Last thing. On Saturday I was preparing to mow the backyard when I moved the out-of-commission bubble tractor.

Low and behold, there was a bird's nest with a single egg. I debated, talked to John, and decided to leave the tractor where it was. The kids had obviously left the tractor alone long enough for some crazy bird to build a nest, maybe they would continue to leave it alone. I did not remember, however, that we have had a spell of rain for a while, and the kids hadn't been outside. When I went out today, a nice warm day (yes, 51 degrees counts as warm here), I noticed that the tractor had been moved about a foot backward. I actually just mowed around the tractor, so its exact original position was pretty easy to figure out. There were now not one, but three eggs.

Tell me, what kind of a crazy bird builds a nest under a child's toy? Of course the boys noticed the nest, and even though I told them not to touch the tractor, they are a little young to understand. So now I only had two options. Keep the kids in the house until the eggs were hatched, babies raised and gone, or move the nest. I chose my sanity over the eggs. So, the eggs were relocated to a low bush in the backyard.

My big mistake was allowing the boys to see where the eggs were. About an hour later, Paul came in smeared with yolk, and I knew the eggs were gone. I felt bad, but, come on, under a tractor? What was that momma bird thinking. And, I had never actually see a bird out there. This afternoon she decided to make up for lost time. Lo and behold, I looked out the window, and there was a little bird hopping all over the long grass where the tractor used to be. She hopped over to the tractor and went under it and all over it. Then, she made a beeline for the bush where her eggs were stored. That poor momma bird made the rounds at least four more times before I finally closed the blinds because I was starting to tear up and cry over those darn eggs! My poor children must think I am demented. What other person do you know who cries so easy?