Each day lately, I enjoy watching a great example of self-sacrificing parenthood--- in my garden!

A couple of weeks ago, I discovered a pair of little birds who got very agitated whenever I headed over to my beans and pumpkin patch. One or the other of them would fly at me, land nearby and twitter away at me, then run off and start pretending to be a poor, broken-winged bird.

I'd never seen this before, but had read of it, and realized that some birds do this to try to lure dangerous predators away from their nests.

I looked around, and sure enough, right there on the ground in a yet-unplanted section of garden was a little nest with four cute, mottled little eggs in it. In researching, I find that my brave little bird couple are apparently killdeer, so-called for their agitated sounds as they try to persuade me to come attack them instead of their eggs.

I've been gardening around it, yet still, whenever I get within ten yards or so of the nest (a necessity to weed and water my growing vegetables), the parent birds fly or run up at me, then race away, calling to me to follow, as the flutter into their "broken wing" dance, trying to persuade me what great prey they are!

These little birds are ready and willing to sacrifice all for their little nest of eggs. Not a bad reminder for all of us who are parents about how much self-sacrifice is part of the job description...

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By the way, these killdeer have the right idea about one thing-- Bosque Farms, NM is a great place to call home! For more information about homes in Bosque Farms, or Albuquerque area real estate in general, call or email me any time: (505)239-4796 or laura@laurawarden.com.