Empty Nest Emotions

Nestled safely within the maze of our ever-spreading jasmine flowers, two birds decided to build a nest.

The jasmine is so clingy and limber. It can weave its way between our house's siding and become new clothing for the neighboring green life. The carpenter bees remain heavily concealed among the vines, drilling their holes in the deck that's slowly becoming a sea of jasmine.

I know nature knows nature best but I'm amazed how the birds (mockingbirds, I believe) were able to maneuver themselves in there to build the nest and then feed their babies. The jasmine seems to grow by the second and access to the hole they forged wasn't always easy.

You see, that hole was right beside our driveway. The parent birds had to patiently wait on rooftops and stair railings, with their nest-building supplies in their beaks, until they felt it was safe to swoop.

After a few weeks, the babies appeared in the nest. I've never been a bird watcher but I would find myself losing minutes as I kept my distance, fascinated while the parents made sure it was safe to fly to the nest and feed their babies.

It was a special experience for the whole family. The kids would hear the chirps and wanted to sneak peeks at the nest. That was fun enough but then the little ones started to explore. One found itself in our garage, too frightened to move. 

We didn't know it was still in our garage until we came back after a few hours and one of the parents parked itself near our cars. It called to the adventurous and misdirected baby. The baby didn't budge. We finally spotted it, frozen feathers and all, perched on a grill stored on a high shelf. 

Andrew climbed up and carefully grabbed the grill, moving the bird back outside.

Its parents gave it an earful. 

Now, the chirping is gone and the jasmine closes in around the empty nest. I can only dream the young ones liked it here enough to return when it's their time to start new life.