See those two tiny birds peeking out the window of their home? They are ready to fly the nest.
And I got to see the entire event as I was sitting in the backyard. My grand daughters, Lila and Nina, painted that birdhouse. It’s difficult to see all the colors, which have been muted by rain, but this was a wooden birdhouse that I bought at Michael’s and the girls layered it with enough paint to resemble Joseph’s amazing technicolor dreamcoat. And then there was a final flourish of gold glitter.
They told me the birds would surely love that house because it was so colorful.
And they were right.
A finch mama and papa built a nest right inside that thing. I found it thrilling to watch them bring all sorts of stuff to put inside their new home to make it comfy.
And then some time after that I heard lots of low chirping, which of course was from the newly hatched finches inside the house.
Last weekend, as I was sitting outside I noticed one of the tiny birds stick its head out hesitantly. The parents were in trees nearby and I heard them chirping away words of encouragement. “Come on out. You can do it.” And the baby finch fluttered out of the house and hopped onto the short perch under the window, not yet ready to fly. Then it hopped onto the roof, then onto the brick and then, parents still chirping away at it, the baby flew up into the tree to join his folks.
Then these two pictured above looked out to see what the commotion was all about and they, too, one by one, followed the same pattern: perch, roof, brick and away.
The fourth bird took his time. Maybe another 10 minutes went by until it, too, flew the nest.
So, now I am an empty nester for the second time in my life.
My kids (and their families) come back to visit often.
I do hope some birds come back next season too.