Messy Little Darlings

Every year we get barn swallows building a nest under the unfinished eaves of the porch.   They are beneficial birds, but they sure are messy!  They try to build nests over all the windows, too, but I always discourage that by hosing down their partly built nests.   I let them go under the eaves, though.   After all, they DO have a purpose - they are marvelous mosquito eaters!  They also do a good job cutting down the fly population.   So I have to let them live with us.  Just not over my dining room window!  Here's a close up of one of the nests and the young:

Three young barn swallows almost ready to leave the nest

Speaking of wildlife, I finally saw the bear that made the prints in our yard.  The other evening we had to burn some bee hive boxes because one of the hives had a very contagious bee disease.   The next morning we saw a huge bear sniffing around the burn pit right in the back yard.   I couldn't grab my camera in time for a photo, and by the time I opened the door, he looked at me and ran off.    There was a little honey left in the ashes, so I guess he was after that.  oh boy, yum, yum!  Ash flavored honey.