Bon Voyage, Clarise And The Kids!

Right on time, they were gone today when I returned from Weeding For Dollars. I did take a couple of photographs this morning, before I left. I didn't get up on the ladder to look for the third chick. I just assumed it was in there, but maybe not. These two characters were looking out for their mother, and perhaps their sibling as it may have left earlier in the day. We have our kitchen door back, so David can take the trash out as an anniversary gift. Tomorrow, we will have been married for eight years. It does not seem possible anymore than it seems possible that the nest is finally, really empty. After my son went back to Colorado, it took me three weeks to straighten up the slip cover on the sofa. Each time I went to do it, I could see him sprawled out there and I couldn't erase that image with tidiness. My darling daughter left this summer, too. A few weeks before she moved to  New Jersey, she left a message on the wipe board in the kitchen. It's been almost two months, and the message is still there. I haven't been able to bring myself to remove it, like the slip cover. And yes, I keep their answering machine messages, too. What are any of us besides the impressions that we leave behind? The indentation of a body on a sofa, a hastily scrawled note, a voice mail - or an empty nest, literally. Some people leave huge impressions in the form of art, writing, recorded music, political offices and more. Some, just a dent in the couch which to the mother, means everything. I can hear Clarise chirping from the woods. I can hear the slightly frantic note in her calls. I'm sure her youngsters are out there and that she's saying, "Be careful! Drive safely! Wear a helmet! Floss daily!" I hope I left them with a good impression.

The Little Monsters, Day 12

Doesn't this one look like as if it has ears? They look like mad scientists, complete with singularity of focus and insanity in their eyes! "The worm! The worm, give us the worm!" Clarise has been bringing bundles of invertebrates and berries. There is a caterpillar and a grasshopper in this load, along with other stuff I can't identify. Feeding is really quick, no appetizers nor grace said. She stuffs it into those golden maws, grabs a fecal sac to discard and runs off to do it again. All three of them seem equally vigorous. Tuesday should be the day they begin to evacuate. I'm going to lay the ladder down on it's side on the ground, so that if any of the nincompoops falls to the ground, I'll get to them before some predator, hopefully.

DAY TEN, Wretched Little Hens!

Okay, I don't know if they are hens or roosters or what they are. They are looking like they could actually blow this phone booth on time, though! They have true feathers, now. They also look like they have ears when they are sitting down. Clarise is very vocal these days, especially if anyone is in the yard. She's got nerve! We don't have to be near her nest, just out of the house and she blats incessantly. She's gone from just aggressive to full on hostile!

DAY EIGHT, Give Back Our Gate!

Day eight,
And we can't wait!
To have back
Our gate!

Or kitchen door, as it were. This was yesterday, August 18th, day eight from hatching. As they saying goes, "you don't miss your water 'till your well runs dry." The same can be said for not being able to use the kitchen door. We have taken for granted the coming and going from that access. Cars park on that side of the house. It's the door through which all of our friends come and go. I warn them all repeatedly, "Do NOT come through the kitchen door!" The dogs favor that entrance. The trash barrels are on that side of the house. And the list could go on. I'll be glad when these little monsters get it together and move on! I want my life back, before adoption. I'm guessing poor, haggard Clarise feels the same. She's sitting on the roof of our trash shed. I am surprised that she is taking berries to her youngsters. What I have read is that robins feed their young invertebrates - caterpillars, and worms as most of us know. I have seen her ferrying those delicacies to them. However, at least half of what I've observed her to serve has been these honeysuckle berries. The juniors, quite suddenly, it seemed, sprouted pin feathers from their wings. I can see them moving without getting up on my ladder. They are exercising their wings when they reach for food. Get ready, get set - GO!

They're Here! They're Here!

There is a show on 'cable' called "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant." It's 'real' TV, documentary style about women who have given birth, but did not know they were pregnant until the moment of delivery. That sounds ridiculous to most of us who have given birth. I would not have believed that a producer could come up with enough women to have a whole series based on this concept, either. But, I was wrong. Shows what I know about human nature and show biz, because there doesn't seem to be an end to the numbers of women that this has happened to. They are not all uneducated dunces and many of them were on legitimate birth control, honestly! Some of them had previous children, as well. Numerous of them rejected their newborns at first, as they hadn't had a second to contemplate being mothers. I won't walk you through all the scenarios, but I'm sure that at least one of you will secretly get cable some time soon just to find out how this could happen. I may appear in an episode myself, as I gave birth this very day and didn't know I was pregnant, either (well, maybe two of you will get cable, now)! I had posted recently that a robin had nested in a planter mounted on our house and had laid three eggs. I promised that I would watch for the hatching and report. Today was the big day. The first two hatched this morning and the last one later in the day. In the following photos, the first two are seen with the third egg still intact. In the other shots, you can see that one of them still has wet feathers. Only hours old, they already vocalize, though weakly. They raise their heads, mouths open for food, even though their eyes are still sealed shut. They are the homeliest things I've ever seen in my life! And I already love them. I've been caught off guard by my feelings for these little darlings, even though I didn't really know I was pregnant. I hope they all make it. I'll let you know as they progress. And I promise: I'm past rejecting them because they are ugly and I was unprepared. I'm hoping for a post delivery baby shower. If anyone wants to crochet a crib throw, make sure it's under 2" by 2".

What's In YOUR Head?

This stone planter sits in the ivy beside our kitchen door. We call it unceremoniously, 'the Head.' I had a plant in it that was struggling and I couldn't figure out why. Now I know it's because this robin was stomping it down while making a nest. She has three, perfect eggs. I'll be listening for chick action. You know I"ll be taking photos of them, too. It seems almost a shame that these beautiful eggs will be cracked asunder and thrown out of the nest to accommodate bald, greedy chicks. Our kitchen door has become off limits for a while. Every time we go through the door she flaps and flutters away, even at night. So, to keep her on the nest as much as possible, we'll have to go the long way around. Some say it's good luck to have a bird nesting by your doorway. Some of you will say that since she's a robin (Turdus migratorius) nesting in my head, and I'm Robin Robinson, that once again, I'm just full of myself.