No, I am not talking about the Tom and Jerry Cartoon from 1942.

Nor am I talking about the book about birds in the Cat In the Hat series.

I am actually talking about a family of cardinals in my yard.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that every time I used by side porch door to go outside, a female cardinal would fly out of the evergreen adjacent to my porch.

Upon close inspection, I discovered a nest with six eggs.

The female cardinal was very protective of the nest and I did not want to disturb her. My photos were taken by using the zoom on my phone from a distance, or through the window of my dining room.

While I am not sure exactly which day the eggs were laid, eleven days after I first saw the nest, I discovered that the eggs were hatching.

The baby birds continued to grow, with both parents bringing them food. Unfortunately, the adult cardinals were too fast for me to take photos of them, but I was able to document the growth of the hatchlings for the past week.

Today, the family flew away. I was again unable to get a photo, but it was fun watching the last of the baby birds fly away. I don’t think they will come back to the nest in my evergreen, but I enjoyed watching them while they were there.

And, while I am sharing some photos, here are some photos showing the progress of my raised bed gardens. Everything is growing nicely without the neighborhood “critters” getting into the garden.

I found some really cute metal black cat silhouettes on-line that I mounted along the edge of the garden beds. These remind me of our cat, Onyx, who passed away last November. Now when I am in my yard or working in the garden, I have a reminder of her to look at.

My lettuce, arugula, spinach and broccoli that are growing in planters on my deck are also doing well.

And, the potatoes planted along my patio are also growing well.

I am already enjoying the salad greens and look forward to harvesting more produce over the next couple of months.