One of the joys and fascinations of this spring has been the discovery that a tiny house wren had chosen my bedraggled, still bound with shiny gold paper, Christmas poinsettia plant in our greenhouse to build it's tiny softly woven nest in.
We didn't actually discover the nest until we noticed a tiny wren darting in and out of the greenhouse while we were having our morning coffee out on the deck. Much to our surprise, this process had been going on for some time because by the time we discovered the nest, there were 4 tiny eggs inside!
The mother and father, we finally saw two of them, were actually quite tolerant of our close presence just outsid her softly feathered little condo in our greenhouse. That includes our 2 joyfully leaping standard poodles, Jaz and Rosie. We watched for days on end and were about to think the eggs would never hatch when Roger discovered 3 little open beaks when he peered in like some giant but respectful intruder.
This morning observation over steaming cups of coffee continued for what has seemed forever. Naturally we were hoping to have a sighting of the little fledglings actually fledging. But this morning it was too quiet, no parents darting in and out with their vocal signals that the coast was clear. So Roger went in to see if anyone was home. The tiny nest was empty and silent! We had the terrible feeling of disappointment that we had missed an important moment in time. The quiet and the peace of the moment seemed a poignant reminder of how fleeting, how fragile and how fascinating life is...
