Spring has Sprung.

Or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof. It’s not really spring. Still rainy. Still pretty cold most days. But, the trees are blooming and the birds think its spring.

Especially our two dumb Steller’s Jays. [Click!] Now, don’t get me wrong. I love Steller’s Jays. They are noisy, opinionated birds that are just a delight! But, this pair is amazingly dumb. They have entertained us with their dumbness for two years now. Sigh.

Here’s the deal. Outside my husband’s office window, up high, there is a beam. That is where this pair keeps trying to build a nest. But, a beam is a bad place to build a nest and so they are unsuccessful. [Click!] They have a fascinating relationship to watch. Mr Wonderful says she’s a total bitch — I just think they are not DIY material and ought to consider moving into a pre-owned nest.

Here’s how it goes. He brings a twig to her. She rejects the twig with a haughty flip to the ground. He heads off for another twig. It happens over and over again. All day. Everyday. For weeks. Now, it’s not that she can do better. She rejects her own twigs too. And, then when she does decide that she likes a twig or two, she’ll start putting them together. But, weaving them together is beyond her. And, of course, there is nothing to attach them to on a beam so as soon as she turns around, she sweeps her feeble attempt to the ground anyway. If it weren’t so funny, it would be sad.

But, here’s the deal. They do this for weeks and weeks and weeks. Here is a picture of part of their pile. [Click!] This is after Mr Wonderful cleaned it up two previous times. Last spring, we let the pile go and by mid-summer, you couldn’t see the pipes at all, the pile of twigs completely covered it.

We are simply grateful they haven’t been successful at nest building. The idea of what their offspring might be like is truly terrifying!

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