wanderinggrrl: Our hosts immediately came out to greet us. Titania, with all the dignity of a fae queen, dazzled us with her skills in slinging her spit in circles, and I was admittedly a bit jealous of her powers.
wanderinggrrl: The boldest baby - let's call him Puck - quickly came out to heckle and supervise the collection of our tributes.
wanderinggrrl: We had noticed Oberon was less inclined to gather the food close to us, and in general seemed to be standing guard more than gathering and feeding the babies. Once I got home, I realized this crow had a serious foot deformity, and I began to wonder when a
wanderinggrrl: It was pure joy to watch Titania's delight at the cherries we brought for her family.
wanderinggrrl: As we arrived in their kingdom, laden with offerings of peanuts and cherries, the little ones were tucked up on the trees.
wanderinggrrl: Early in our visit, and often throughout our time with them, interlopers dared to enter their domain. Each time, they were met with great calls of warning, alerting the little ones to take cover, and this ragged raven even merited a dual-parent chase. Cle
wanderinggrrl: As Titania and Oberon began to gather our offerings on the lagoon's pebble beach, their entourage began to come out of the deep forest to attend to their lieges' activities.
wanderinggrrl: Titania flew back into the lagoon and quickly gathered 3 of her young ones around her, all clamoring for her minstrations.
wanderinggrrl: With 3 babies in the back lagoon, there were still 2 others tucked up in trees nearby who were all mouth.
wanderinggrrl: Titania was doing some epic food-gathering, while Oberon had her back and pitched in.
wanderinggrrl: Here's another shot of Oberon's scarred and much bigger right foot.
wanderinggrrl: Puck continued to alternate between exploring the wonders of the beach, and coming close to observe the Offering Ritual.
wanderinggrrl: What a beauty!
wanderinggrrl: As the food gathering and distribution continued, it was funny and heartwarming to see how closely these magical creatures' daily lives mirrored our own. The cast of her shoulders and the expectant supplicants behind her spoke volumes of the great weight
wanderinggrrl: Never let it be said that Titania did not use her powers to their fullest to meet the needs of her realm.
wanderinggrrl: Observing the careful dexterity that Titania used in pulling apart food, I began to understand why perhaps Oberon did not take point on feeding. With his club foot, it would be harder for him to hold the food while picking it apart, and Titania was probab
wanderinggrrl: And with 5 hungry mouths to feed, Titania was a force to be reckoned with.
wanderinggrrl: Aside from the deep satisfaction of our offerings being so wholeheartedly accepted and appreciated, the best part of the day was watching the young ones of the court play in their wonderland. Peaseblossom was very curious about the seaweed, picking at it
wanderinggrrl: And then found a leaf to wave around in victory.
wanderinggrrl: Puck continued to explore on his own, searching out his own adventures.
wanderinggrrl: Safely tucked in the lagoon, Peasblossom, Cobweb, Moth, and Mustardseed were exploring together. Cobweb - the second from the left - found a clam shell and began carrying it around.
wanderinggrrl: Not sure of it's proper application, he brought it to Mustardseed in hopes that two beaks were better than one.
wanderinggrrl: And soon, Peaseblossom joined them, with Moth getting curious too.
wanderinggrrl: Finally, all four of them were gathered around, picking up and dropping the shell, while Puck continued to forge his own way in the distance.
wanderinggrrl: And then the whole thing started over again when Moth found a pebble.
wanderinggrrl: And then it was time for a parade!
wanderinggrrl: The tiniest baby, Cobweb, was the last one to fledge that I first saw in the trees on Sunday. On this visit, she is still acting like a very small baby, running at Titania, flapping her wings up and down, and making a noise that sounds like "OM-NOM-NOM-NO
wanderinggrrl: But as quickly as the levity comes, so too does the disappointment when the food runs out.
wanderinggrrl: Titania spent most of the afternoon flying back to service her court, hoping that one of those cherries might contain a sleeping potion.
wanderinggrrl: Meanwhile, Puck began inching closer to the audience.