PhotoHunt: Beautiful (Alternative Version)

As I said in my PhotoHunt post yesterday, I wanted to present something different. With absolutely no disrespect to any of my fellow photobloggers, many of whom presented truly beautiful photos in yesterday's Hunt - and I told you so in your respective comments (mind you, I still haven't looked at everyone's!), I knew there would be a lot of landscapes, flowers, children, and yes, even old people. Even I showed an orchid that I thought was particularly dramatic and beautiful. As our hostess illustrated in her presentation, everything is beautiful through the lenses of our cameras, if it moves us.

This moved me:



Why am I moved by an empty bird's nest? It goes back to what I'm trying to accomplish in my yards, front and back. That is, establish a wildlife habitat in an urban/suburban setting, while still maintaining a "socially acceptable" landscape.

We planted this longan tree (relative of the lychee) about six years ago, in the front of the house, next to the driveway. It's about twelve feet tall now. We've had bird feeders and bird baths in the backyard for about three years, and the birds came. And they brought their kids. But I've never seen evidence - despite all the native shrubs and other plantings we planted over the years, that they were actually nesting here. I've done some research, and I think it's either a mockingbird or cardinal nest. I'm leaning toward cardinal because of all the paper and plastic in the outer part of the nest.

You should click on that graphic over there in the sidebar, and find out how you can create a wildlife habitat in your own yard. You don't need a lot of space, just an appreciation for the creatures we displace.

There's a nest in a tree we planted near the street and next to our driveway. To me, that's beautiful.