The Sparrow and the Sorbonne

Where there's a farm, there's life! In addition to the flower-centric happenings around here, our farm is home to many other types of critters--harmful and helpful alike.  We have bees collecting pollen from our crops, ladybugs feasting on pests, and even the occasional raccoon to scare the bejeezus out of me as I walk to my car.

A working bee collecting pollen from a Matsumoto Aster

A fantastic frog....doing his frog thing.

Recently, our lily greenhouse has become home to a new family. They were first spotted when Tim, our head agronomist, was doing his daily farm walk through a section of Sorbonne Lilies and discovered a small bird's nest, complete with three eggs. 

We left the nest alone and instructed all teams to not disturb the eggs! Caution tape was put around the small section to ensure their protection and over the next few weeks, I monitored the progress of our Lily Sparrows. 

Two hatched, One to go!

One aspect of this Circle-of-Life tableau that I particularly enjoyed was that just before the eggs hatched, all the surrounding Sorbonne Lilies burst open, as if to welcome the new baby birds to the world.  Talk about an entrance!

Prime real estate!

I made weekly trips to the greenhouse to check on our little sparrows.  The mom was not happy to see me, even though I assured her I was just there to observe and take some photos.  Eventually, when the babies were big and strong enough, they flew away to make their own life.

This sparrow story is a great illustration of how a professional greenhouse environment can be healthy, balanced, and a great place to build a home....er, nest. That is, if the greenhouse is treated the right way, with no shortcuts or harmful chemicals. And maybe, someday, the three sparrows will return to their birthplace to build another nest in our lilies. Either way, they are more than welcome.