Mother Nature has a way making her presence known and living harmoniously with a pair of energetic robins residing in a non-bearing plum tree right outside my front door – I witnessed the ongoing story of them raising their three baby birds with the last one successfully leaving the nest on Saturday.
A country milestone for me, which I’ve kept my mom in Palm Springs, California updated with daily conversations over the past couple of months to keep her spirit up as she slowly recovers to regain her health while now at home.
My mom and stepdad love birds. They enjoy feeding and watching them while spending their early morning coffee ritual outside on the patio in the desert or on the deck in the mountains. The family of robins and my co-existence tale with them has been an entertaining and therapeutic account – one that I will not soon forget.
I was careful not to get in their way and to disrupt their family life with my awkward curiosity as our lives during this time became truly connected. Unable to see my mom at the rehabilitation center while she was prohibited from seeing any visitors in person other than her husband, who was routinely outside her window at 8 a.m., the phone was her only source of social interaction.
During our morning conversations, my mom never wavered about her eagerness and innate goal of returning home. She was captivated by the robin’s strength for building a strong nest and her vocal diligence in protecting her babies while they grew and yearned to eventually take flight.
Speaking with my mom on Saturday morning, I informed her that all three babies had their beaks open and were waiting patiently for a breakfast worm as I walked by and peered into the nest, thinking to myself it was time to get a picture of them the next day.
After I arrived back to my place that evening, I observed the last baby which was standing on the ground by my front door with the mother on the fence communicating with clear instruction on how to fly upward in a healthy manner.
Patrick Shelby can be contacted at 509-837-4500, ext. 110 or email PShelby@SunnysideSun.com
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