For the Birds

Unlike some of our neighbors, we’re not that detail-oriented when it comes to property maintenance and upkeep. We do what we can to keep our neighbors from being annoyed (or reporting us to the town)—mowing occasionally, pulling weeds, raking leaves, and the nightly picking up of the flotilla of balls and plastic toys that end up in the backyard—but we’ll never win any best lawn, garden, or landscaping awards. Personally, I’d rather play with my kids in the yard than to constantly be working on the yard while my kids play. Also, we refuse to spray any sort of chemical on our lawn for reasons that go beyond the wellness of my children. As a result, we have all sorts of clover, vines, and crabgrass that grow in our diverse yard, but our expanse plays the same as the treated ones. Imagine that.

One simple thing that we can do better to encourage the biodiversity in our space is to keep our bird feeder full of seed. With Mommy’s help, Reed plunged into the giant bag of seed, and then he helped me hang it from the post by our back patio.