Our Little Robin Family

I will have to say I was a bit concerned when I saw the pile of hay, string, and other choice nest building materials beside my front step. The next day, I looked outside and watched a diligent mommy and daddy robin expertly building a nest, high atop a brick column under our overhanging veranda. The concern I felt had not lessened. You see, as this couple were building the home where their wee little ones would be hatched, we were in the process of loading everything we own into boxes to move into our new home across town. Surely, we were going to cause this little family a whole lot of stress in the not-too-distant future (that and we live just feet from a very very busy and loud street in summertime Banff). I was thrilled to have these lovely creatures right outside the window beside our front door, aside from the worry. Everyday, Quin and I have watched "Momma Birdie" (Quin is too little to tell the daddy from the mommy). One day, my heart sunk, when I spotted the broken half of a robin's egg blue shell on the landing... "oh no, we did this", I thought. But Momma was still sitting on the nest so we decided to wait and see. I sighed with relief when I thought I could hear little birdie tweets a few days later. And it was a few days after that that we witnessed Momma and Papa feeding their little ones worms. Soon after I would see them from a window in the neighbor's backyard, scrounging for worms. Now, we can see the little babes' beaks and heads, stretching and searching for their meal. They still have their eyes shut and they look bald and naked. Their are three, maybe four. Now Quin runs to look at them as often as she remebers, which is countless times a day. And when we leave the house we open the door very slowly and whisper, "It's ok, Momma Birdie, don't be scared." Tomorrow is our last day of moving, and this little family has hung in there so far. I am so glad. I feel honored that they picked our house, and that they could help me teach my little birdy a bit more about our feathered friends...