I have spent the past several days erecting the walls of my walk-through rose arbor, and I have begun the brick walkway through that area to the back of my garden.

Because a temporary rain season is hovering here now, my work outside is stalled, but I am able to sit on my screened back porch and watch the activity in my garden. Yesterday, i enjoyed watching my birds, as they hopped from bar to bar on the arbor. They reminded me of the Flying Fandinis and their aerial act in the Circuses of my past. I built the arbor to house the climbing roses I have planted there. I had not realized that my birds would enjoy their new perching station as much as they do. That is a side benefit.

The Carolina Chickadees and the Tufted Titmouses skitter from bar to bar continuously. They are smaller birds, and watching them is almost like watching butterflies.

Yesterday, a large Mourning Dove perched on the highest bar of the arbor and simply sat there. Unlike the chickadees and the titmouses, he did not skitter about. He was more like the King of the Pageant. I am always surprised by how big Mourning Doves are, but I have other large birds perching on my new arbor. You see, I have 4 bird feeding stations set up along this arbor,  and Blue Jays visit en masse. Ialso  have a few brown thrashers who have dared to come out of the bush and dine with the rest of the birds, and my mockingbirds dot my garden everywhere I look.

I have taken a little notebook to my porch morning chair, and I have determined to record the birds who perch on my arbor daily.

My new arbor is immediately outside my back porch, and I can see almost everthing that happens in my garden–from my screened porch.