Pesky Little Pickers

Ever since our own personal attempt at killing the earth, I've noticed an abundance of these milling about our yard:

They {literally plural: they} line the fence posts, as well as our roof line. A few of them quite vocal.

I found it odd that they suddenly began appearing {in droves} in our now treeless yard. Why had I not seen them when the trees were still there? I had myself convinced that maybe we had displaced them when we destroyed their home.

Thinking nothing more of it, I've enjoyed their songs and welcomed them...until recently....

After watching one dash through the yard carrying a strawberry, I realized why they had been making their regular visits. The pesky little pickers were picking at my garden. Those songs they sang, were not songs at all. Announcements instead. Announcing the gettin' of good fruit in my garden.

I thought it odd that my tomatoes were multiplying faster than I could pick them, yet my strawberries never seemed to ripen. They were ripening, and being claimed by someone {or thing} other than me.