Fairwell to Friends

We were all devastated to wake up this morning and find that the beautiful robin's nest that we have been watching on our roof had blown down in the night. The building of the nest has been wonderful to see, and we have been so excited about the eggs hatching. Watching nature, being a part of it, loving it and marvelling at its beauty, also means witnessing its hardships and death. Not an easy lesson for little ones, or for me for that matter.

After getting over our initial sadness, the boys did enjoy holding the nest and exploring it and the egg shells. It is really amazing to see how intricately the nest is put together, how perfectly round it is, how strong, how larger branches and mud are used for the outside (how do they get the mud up there?) and how soft and clean the grass is inside. What a tribute to the beauty of parenthood, whether you are a person or a bird.

As for the robins, there is now about $20 in birdseed on the deck to help them through their time of grief.