The birds are crazy this year. I hear them all day long. This morning I had a dream that hummingbirds were building nests in my backyard, and then I woke up and realized it was because the birds outside my window were so loud they had invaded my dream. A few minutes ago, a little bird lighted on the screen of my window with a twig in its mouth. Every time I go outside, jays are perching in the branches of my baby fruit trees. Yesterday, a black bird flew into my kitchen window, but didn’t seem seriously hurt.

The neatest part of all this is that a red finch family has built a nest in my garage. Every time I go into the backyard, the female flies away and sits in the branches of the mystery tree in an attempt to distract me from her nest.

The other day I decided to read outside. When I went into the backyard, the female flitted to the tree as usual. As I sat out there for awhile, she grew bolder and flew back to her nest and hopped around the outside of it, looking at me. Right as she was about to get back in it, she flew away again. I looked over my shoulder and realized that my cat Quill had entered the backyard. As he meowed and rubbed against me, the female bird sat in the tree and looked worried. After awhile, the male bird joined her. He was just like her, except he had a bright red neck and face. Together, they flew to the roof about two feet from the nest and looked over at Quill, who was rolling on his back on the cement and chattering at them. They looked so upset that I took pity on them and left the yard, calling Quill with me so that they could have their little bird family in peace.

The down side to all these birds is that I am trying to grow a. raspberries, b. strawberries, and c. cherries. It’s going to be a battle to get any of these for myself. Already, my bean seedlings keep mysteriously disappearing as soon as they sprout. However, there are very few pill bugs this year. It’s a trade-off.

The first fruit of my labor: a radish.