Next week on the Hedge, it's Monoculture week - a celebration of one of our own and and her big ideas in book form. We like big ideas at the Hedge in many forms and book form is one of our favorites. In the meantime, you can catch FS Michaels on one of her writing breaks dealing with some bird adventures of her very own:

I forgot that around this time last year, the blackbirds were a real nuisance, and this year they’re at it again. They’ve built nests in the mugo pines, and now that the babies are hatching, the birds have become very aggressive – they’ll divebomb me when I’m out in the garden, even if I’m on the other side of the yard, and I’ve even seen them divebomb Red when he’s doing nothing more sinister than lying on the grass.

What to do? The babies have hatched and become fledgings, because I’ve seen them sitting on the walkway like big lumps, trying out their wings and not really going anywhere (the babies are somehow bigger than the parents at this stage). I’m hoping that they’re on their way soon, but in any case, we’re going to have to find the nests and take them down, which should be an adventure.

I’ve read that when you go after the nest, the swooping gets worse – so much so that you’re supposed to wear a hard hat, safety glasses, and long sleeves to protect yourself from beaks and claws.

Ugh. In the end, it wasn’t that bad. The Other One bravely crawled into the mugo pine and found the nest without any hat, safety glasses or long sleeves, while I sort of held the birds off with the water hose. (That didn’t work too well. I was asked to stop spraying since someone was getting all wet.)

All that commotion, and one little empty nest!

Now, with any luck, the birds will move on. Move on, birds.