With kids heading back to school, I’m reminded of that perennial favorite first week assignment: “What I did on my summer vacation.” Many youngsters will respond: ‘We went to Disney’ or ‘I learned to ride a bike’ or ‘Stayed at grandmas’. In our house, however, we experienced something for the first time in 25 summers living here.
There is a crepe myrtle outside our circular laundry room window. In May, we noticed a robin building a nest… and soon sitting inside it. From our upstairs window we saw two blue eggs, so it became a daily ritual to regularly check on the soon-to-be chicks. After a couple weeks, as expected, there were two tiny heads tilted upward with mouths wide open – and momma would return frequently to feed them. (Two things: hatchlings are stranger looking than expected; and, you mean that’s how baby birds are fed?)
After a couple more weeks, the little ones left the nest and were hiding in our bushes, occasionally flying around the yard. It was a great experience to witness.
But wait. There’s more.
Who knew red-breasted females lay eggs more than once a year? Well, they do… and by July we embarked on a second journey – this time with one more settled in the nest.
Soon there were three little babies with mouths open… and we checked on them each morning until the day they tumbled out of their safe space. The past few weeks, I’ve watched with paternal joy as the family of ‘my birds’ hop around outside my office window. When winter comes and they fly north – or whatever robins with a two-year life expectancy do – I’ll miss the little ones and their momma.
So that’s what I did this summer.
The end.
