Earlier this Spring, a Robin built a nest on a mature grapevine right outside our front door. What a gift it was for Guari and I and our daughter Serena and her grown kids who live with us. As we watched the care with which she built the nest, we decided to block off the front deck and come in and out the back door so we would not disturb her.

At first the mother spent time away from the nest–even overnight. (Out with her boyfriend?) More recently, the mother bird has been so careful–sitting on the nest through unseasonably cold weather (we lost the early fruit on the grape vines and fruit trees) and keeping a watchful eye when we come to the window or near the front deck, which we have pretty much abandoned. Now, just a few weeks later, the first two eggs have hatched.  We are waiting for the last one.  

 

The devoted mother has been acting differently now, sometimes nesting with them, sometims standing over them and putting her head down, apparently feeding them. Meanwhile, the father is around more. He’s been vigilant, standing on  a nearby wire or, when the mother is away, on the edge of the nest. He even brought back a worm, but then he flew away with it. Evidently both parents are trying to figure out how this works and what to do.

Having this little bird family here and being able to observe them so closely reminds me of how much they are like us, or perhaps how much we are like them. We may get the idea that we humans are removed from the natural world, with our towns and cities and busy lives, but we are not. We are mortal, made from the same elements that make up the rest of creation here on earth. We are part of the interconnected and interdependent community of life. These birds, along with the skunks and foxes and deer and quail and other creatures around us, are our brothers and sisters. They care for their young, as we do.  Even in the midst of the many disasters taking place all around, there is still so much beauty left to be saved.

 

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