No, not the nasty critter that’s eating our summer squash!

Pleasant critters.

Like Nosencrantz, who was very curious about me as I was checking the cucamelons.

She still won’t come close enough to touch, but she very deliberately came to check me out several times, while I was topping up their food and water, and checking the south yard garden beds.

Such a cutie!

Meanwhile, yesterday, I heard a distinctive and familiar thumping on the dining room window. I immediately went to check, and found this bird, stunned on the ground.

It’s a fledgling robin, and I’m guessing it was testing out its wings when it hit the window, because this little guy couldn’t fly yet!

With so many yard cats around (even if they were smart enough to not be out in yesterday’s heat!), I wasn’t going to leave it on the ground. When I first picked it up, it fluttered out of my hands, fell to the ground and basically somersaulted onto it’s own head. It was still too stunned to even stand up on its own. I picked it up again and put it on the platform of the big bird feeder, hoping it would just stay there until it recovered.

Nope.

It fluttered right off the edge, hit the ground and somersaulted onto its head again.

So I picked it up again and just held it. It made an attempt to bight the palm of my hand, but not with any real force. Then it sat there and glared at me! I kept a hand over its wings for a while, until it seemed calmer, then took a couple of photos. Eventually, it hopped out of my hand, fluttering its wings enough to land gently on the ground, then started hopping across the yard.

Unfortunately, it was hopping right out of the shade and into the baking sun – and out of the yard, away from safety!

I followed at a distance until I saw it hope into the shelter and shade of some trees near and old shed. At that point, I could be sure it was okay.

Meanwhile, it’s parents were squawking up a storm the entire time!

Poor thing! I’m glad it wasn’t injured.

And that there were no cats around, to get to it before I could!

The Re-Farmer