Tag Archives: nature

The Robins Are Gone

11 Aug

 

Speak Up Saturday

Patricia Franklin

    The robins are gone.  I do hear them calling once in a while, and one of the adults flew up onto our fence near the flower beds where I was working.  Instead of flying away, which I would expect, he flew down almost at my feet and retrieved something to eat.  The young ones come around every now and then too, and they all seem to be “our” robins, as they are not afraid and will continue looking for food.   
     As I left for Texas for a week, the mama dove was still sitting on her nest.  When we got back, there were two little heads peeking out from the flimsy nest and the mother was gone, but we could hear her cooing nearby.  Two days later, one little dove was sitting out on the branch. The next day, both of them were out of nest on the branch.  The following day they were out of sight.  I saw one on the front lawn a few days later and went over to get it, as the cat roams around out there. But when I got close, the little fellow flew into the tree, so I knew all were safe. 
    Now, a few weeks later, my husband and I were sitting on the patio last evening and two doves flew right close to us onto the bare branch just below the dove nest. We started talking and moving around, and instead of flying away as doves usually would, they settled down and kept us company, cocking their heads as though listening to what we had to say.  They stayed there as long as we were outside.  Is it my imagination, or did they recognize us and were seeking our company as well?
    At first I felt a little void in my life when I could not see the birds every day, but I know they are all still here and they come around now and then, while keeping up with their busy lives.  I decided I will encourage them to stick around, so have put out the bird bath, a hummingbird feeder and a little cage with suet to attract more birds. The finches seem to love it.  So they are chirping all over the place now and trying to avoid the aggressive little hummingbird who seems to think he owns the whole territory and tries to chase them all away.  And so …..  life goes on in my little bird world.
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The Robin Diaries-Part Five

21 Jul

I am always thrilled with God’s timing. Patricia originally wrote the following paragraph  to close today’s post but in light of the tragedy in Colorado, I made an editorial decision to move it up and use it as an intro-Onisha

“With all the turmoil going on in the world, it is very refreshing for me to block it all out and concentrate on the simple, normal life of mother nature and her little critters. I am glad to know that I am not the only one. I know you enjoy it too, and my friend that was here this weekend actually set up a movie camera one year and took a movie of robins nesting in her yard. She let it run until the birds were gone.”

Speak Up Saturday

Patricia Franklin

After all the commotion yesterday, things have settled down today. We had a nice rain last night and I was out pulling weeds from my little garden today – about 10 feet away from the nest. The robins do not care. Neither are they bothered by any of the doves or other birds. In fact, they will get down on the grass and eat with the doves. The blackbirds are a different matter. They chase them away. The robin was loudly tweeting a warning last night, so I went out to see what was happening. Both robins were trying to chase a blackbird away. He finally landed on the fence, but would not leave, so I decided to offer my services and went out and chased him out of the yard.

Somewhere I heard that robins hear the movement of earthworms and that is how they find them. I don’t know if that is true, but I know they have good eyesight. Frank replaced a sprinkler yesterday and we had to dig up a lot of the grass. Any earthworms that I found, I tossed in the grass near the lilac bush. But, I found a huge cutworm and did not want it to get back in the grass, so I just put it on the edge of the patio where I was digging. I stopped working, went in and got a drink of water. Out the window, I saw a flutter of wings, and ran back out to discover the cutworm was gone, just like that.

Earthworms are a good example of soil-dwelling...

Earthworms are a good example of soil-dwelling detritivores (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Now as I am awaiting the robin family to appear in public, I have a ring necked dove who tried twice to put a nest on a bare limb, above the picnic table. Twice it blew away. Today when I went out, she had completed her nest and is now sitting on it. It is not much of a nest, but I will be watching her as well now. I don’t see how she can have room for an egg, let alone a baby bird, but we will see.

Robin nest

Robin nest (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn’t and doesn’t, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it’s sin versus grace, grace wins hands down. All sin can do is threaten us with death, and that’s the end of it. Grace because God is putting everything together again through the Messiah, invites us into life–a life that goes on and on and on, world without end.

Romans 5:20 The Message Bible

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Speak Up Saturday- The Robin Diaries Part 2

23 Jun
Robin nest

Robin nest (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Robin Diaries

 Patricia Franklin

I keep a watch out my kitchen window, but have only seen the robins in the early mornings flying in and out. I am puzzled because when I walk by the nest it is empty. They have a nice big deep nest, so maybe the eggs are in the bottom where they will stay warm without the parents. Or maybe she is hunkered down inside there too. Or maybe, I am thinking, she might be one of these modern mothers who can leave the nest during the day because she designed it so she doesn’t have to be there to sit on it all the time, but can be out running around like the modern mothers of today.

I know the dove surprised me last year with two beautiful babies one morning when they were fully grown. She sat on top of the nest so I could not see them. I wonder what will happen with the robins. My biggest fear is the neighbor’s big black cat that has caught some birds in my backyard before, will come after them. Maybe Frank will have to build a fence around the bush. I don’t think that will happen because he is not going to let a hay crop grow until they hatch as he did last year. He is cutting the lawn right now, so I better get out and guard my little flock while I can.

1 Corinthians 16:13

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