Can You Hear Me Now?

Friday afternoon we were sitting on our covered back patio, watching as a rain storm arrived. Clouds were rolling in, sky was becoming darker and we started to notice a few drops of rain in our pool. The  wind became stronger as the rain became heavier.

A Black Phoebe was fidgeting between perches as the weather turned - flying from the edge of our pool, up to the telephone wires, down to the block wall, into a tree. She started making some low passes right in front of us in our chairs, calling as she flew by. After about the third pass, we finally figured out we were probably keeping her from a sheltered perch on our covered patio.

Just a few minutes after we went inside, the phoebe came in to perch on top of the tall sunflower stalks we have drying on our patio. The rain only lasted for about ten minutes, but the gusty winds lasted into the night.

This evening we checked our patio around 6pm, and saw the phoebe had come in to perch on top of the sunflower stalks again. The stalks are not particularly stable, so we will see what we can do about making a more permanent roosting spot for her.


"Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply."
~Stephen R. Covey, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change"