Build Your Own Bird Nest

Spring is finally here! Literally overnight, the trees sprung their green and our woods are teeming with life. I am so thankful that we can get back to our morning walks, sans twenty layers of clothing and ten minutes of simply getting dressed. This morning we threw on our flip-flops and headed out the door, bucket in hand. The kids love to collect "discoveries" on our nature walks and Lincoln immediately announced that we should fill our bucket with sticks to make a bird's nest--genius!  

​Last night the wind and rain dropped sticks abounding on our road, so it was the perfect day to make such a creation. We spent a good 30 minutes walking up and down the street compiling the perfect sticks for our nest. Then, we placed the sticks in a nest-like fashion and tied it together with twine. Little plants and weeds are flowering everywhere and Adeline insisted that we decorate the nest with flowers as well, a fitting idea from our fancy girl. After that, the kids picked grass from our yard and softened the bottom of the nest. Along with flowers, they also used pinecones as a finishing touch. 

​Once the kids finished building the nest, we went tree hunting to locate the perfect spot to place the nest. We picked one in our backyard, that would make it easy for us to check in on regularly through the window. We placed the nest in the tree and then the kids spent time swinging from the branches. 

Later in the afternoon, we returned to Lincoln's bird nest idea by supplementing with the pinecone collection they had accumulated on yesterday's stroll. The kids took turns slathering the pinecones in peanut butter and rolling them in bird seeds. I tied twine around the pinecones and the kids chose spots around the nest's branches to hang the pinecones. We're hoping to lure some bird to our home-crafted nest, with blissful ignorance.
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We did, however, spy a squirrel and several birds (including a gorgeous cardinal) scoping out the goods! What a fun payoff for our day's investment. We'll keep birdwatching in hopes of catching them eating our treats and checking out the nest. 
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