Today after a thunder and lightening storm I went on a walk. As I turned the corner to come home, I saw this~
Beautiful and delicate, so perfectly woven on a base of tightly packed dirt. If I could, I would have climbed up the tree, and carefully nestled it back between two branches in hopes it might once again give warmth to the birds who created it. But the tree is far too tall.
The perfect solution came from an observant eight year old who found it earlier in the day where I had put it, and tenderly placed it between two branches of a small tree in our yard, where it fits perfectly.
There it will remain for the rest of fall and through winter, too. Come spring, I am hoping another set of birds might find it useful. If anything comes from it I'll be sure to post the rest of the story!o little nest,
may you nicely rest,
nestled in the branches of my tree.
fallen and found,
rescued from the cold damp ground,
you'll live to see another spring.
So cool! Wow, that was quite a find! Aren't nests the most amazing and surprising little things? One looks up at a tree and see a somewhat chaotic display of branches and leaves going in all sorts of directions -- the wildness of nature being alive. And then in the midst of all of that wild complexity of spontaneous growth, you stumble upon something homey, woven, organized, and thoughtfully planned out to provide warmth and comfort to a very small creature. It's such a surprising thing to discover in the midst of nature's wildness...all of the sprawling branches, lightning struck trees, storm clouds, windy days, wild flowers -- you know, all of the mad moods of nature that spins around us. And then in the middle of it all sits a little nest weaved by a tiny beak. You'd expect to see a hearth and a stove and a laundry hamper in it. It just carries such a feeling of domesticity and, well, humanity in it. That's what your post made me think of: the way we find startling contrasts like that in nature. It's pretty darn cool. :) Thanks for sharing these pictures!
ReplyDeleteWow, Kevin, I love what you have said here. Beautiful words, they should be in their own post, really!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughts, they are always appreciated.