Can you tell me more about the scent trail? I didn't know about that. Of course, the baby bunnies I found our by our raised bed which I visit everyday anyways, so the scent trail is always there. I've seen the bunny hopping around the bed...almost stepped on it one day before it ran off (they hide well).. Today it rained and I saw it out there all soaked and shivering. I came close and it didn't hop away, and then I noticed a snail crawling on it (not kidding)--which gave me a big clue something was wrong. I decided to removed the snail and it still didn't hop away, and I noticed ants by it. I thought maybe it would help to get him somewhere dry and warm but since I know his mom is around and don't know where his nest is, I didn't want to take him where she couldn't find him. I remember finding some bunnies his size in shoes my kids left outside on one cold day, and my youngest just outgrew a pair, so I put the shoe next to him and sort of nudged him into it. As I did I notice his bottom had blood on it. So ang...something may have already gotten to him. I took the shoe about 5 feet away to the other side of the raised bed, away from the ants--and also put something over it to shield the rain (not directly over it so he couldn't get out...but leaning on our raised bed like a lean-to with enough room for the mom to get in.) So, any advice on what to do now would be appreciated, or what to do differently next time. Cause, bunnies often make nests in our yard so there probably will be a next time.

The tree swallows won't leave my box alone. Poor blues! I will be putting up another box next week for the swallows to nest in. :)

I've only seen plantation shutters in home where it is more of a cohesive look done throughout the house--or at least the entire floor back or fornt of the home. So, while I do agree, that would be an excellent choice, I would keep in mind what I wanted to do with the other rooms in making a final decision. For what it is worth, I have three children and have used 2" wood blinds in all of their room when they were young. What I did was to knot the cords together so that it would be impossible to coke or strangle on the cord. Most blind companies have made their products baby safe, so it that is a concern, I would keep that in mind. It is nice to have light control with young children in order to faciliate sleep. I think a layered look works well with the shutters or blinds paired with either stationary panels or valances for pattern and softness. I generally perfer panels over valances, though with young toddlers, valances may be a more practical choice so they are not tugging on the panels or getting them dirty with sticky fingers. So, my vote would probably be for valances as most likely, you will find yourself redoing the room 3-4 years from now when you phase out the crib and, valances would be easy to change at that time.

My phoebes had skipped a year of nesting in their usual place (above the porch light fixture near my office door). My mirror set-up had scared them away. I should have realized that birds do not "like" mirrors -- but I didn't think about it at the time. I did see a bird pecking all day at the mirror, looking behind it, then pecking angrily at it when seeing the "intruder" again. That bird came back the next day to peck at the mirror again. I felt sorry for him wasting his time. But, I didn't think about the phoebes reaction being the same. So, they never nested there last year. I removed the mirror, but they still did not return to nest there this spring. Instead, they nested on another side of the house -- under our raised deck (same as last year). But, after the 1st brood was fledged -- THEY MOVED BACK TO THEIR OLD NESTING SPOT! So, the phoebes apparently got fed up with the disturbances created by our toy poodle (who is let out onto our raised deck several times a day.) The poodle would be walking directly over their nest, and possibly pissing over their nest. The nest building started May 25, 2021 and completed on the 30th or 31st. The mother was sitting on the nest on May 31, and there were 2 eggs in the nest. So, the first egg was likely delivered on May 30. By June 3, there were 5 eggs. All the eggs hatched on June 17 -- so, exactly 2 weeks after the last egg was laid. Interesting that all eggs hatched on the same day, even though each egg was laid a day apart. When I peeked, all the shells were gone. So, even tho I didn't see it, I assume that the parents removed all the egg shells. I also see the parents flying away with baby-bird poop. The poop looks like worms, and the parents carry it away from the nest. They either drop it or eat it (it is undigested food). Today is June 23, and the parents are often very busy bringing food. The bay birds are still too small to see without using a mirror over the nest. Here is a link to a very interesting article from 1937, detailing the observations of nesting habits of phoebes as studied over a 3-yr period. A few interesting details: Female does all the nest building. Incubation starts at varying times - sometimes after 3rd egg, sometimes after 4th, sometimes after 5th. The male apparently does none of the incubation. After fledging, the young birds remain close to the nest, getting farther way as the days pass. Both parents still feed the young after they fledge -- feeding them for periods of up to 18 days. Reliance on the parents gradually decreases. The parents may eventually show harsh treatment of the young to get them to go out on their own. Interesting. https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v059n03/p0410-p0417.pdf