What a lovely post and a lovely reminder that it's important to slow down and enjoy the little things in life. Speaking of birds, earlier this spring I noticed that a bird had made a nest on the Christmas wreath I'd lazily left on my front door. I checked it from time to time, and eventually five tiny blue eggs with brown spots on them appeared.
The mother bird would fly in my face everytime I approached the front door, then she'd take a spot in a nearby tree and she and her husband (who was always nearby) would squak at me while I walked inside.
I checked the nest daily, waiting for signs of life. A few weeks later, five tiny chicks appeared. They were nearly bald and seriously wrinkled. They looked like little old men.
Each morning on my way to work, I'd take a peek at her brood. In just three weeks they were fully feathered and looked like they'd soon be ready to leave the nest. The morning, I peeked in the nest and they were gone. I felt a twinge of sadness. Somewhere along the way, they'd stolen a little bit of my heart.
I was finally able to remove the Christmas wreath last week and replaced it with one more fitting for spring. Hopefully my little chicks will return next year looking for a place to nest. I'll have a Christmas wreath waiting for them, just in case.