Life and Death

I awoke this morning to discover that a terrible disaster had occurred in the garden.  When I looked out the dining room window, the nest box with the tiny baby wrens was...gone.  I ran outside only to discover the steel pole bent completely over and the nest box laying open on the ground.  No babies anywhere.  They were only a few days old and so incredibly tiny.  And the only thing that could have bent the steel pole like that would have been a bear.  Seems doubly tragic to me that he did that only to get 7 tiny birds, each no bigger than my pinkie finger-tip.  Just broke my heart.

But I guess the good news is that the female who would have been brooding the babies last night, escaped.  And she and the male are already busy building a new nest in the back yard.  I watched the two of them making the rounds of available nest boxes this morning - he singing while she looked inside.  He's now hard at work bringing sticks into the nest and taking breaks each time for a exuberant song.  

While I am glad that they are starting a new nest so fast, I am concerned his second female who's six eggs hatched sometime in the last 48 hours is now going to be feeding those nestlings all by herself.  (See Extra for a blind-shot of the nestlings, taken with my phone.)  But, this is nature and there isn't anything I can do about it.  Thankfully, our temperatures are going to be in the 70's and 80's through early next week, so there should be a plentiful supply of insects and spiders.  

What a way to start the day.  I feel terrible even though I know there is nothing I could have done to prevent this.  Because I needed to get my mind off it, Hubs and I went over and joined MIL for lunch today.  She had me laughing in no time and I came back feeling in much better spirits.  

And tomorrow morning, bright and early, I'm off to Florida, leaving Hubs in charge of the Bistro and Nursery.  By the time I get home, I expect to see fledgling downy woodpeckers, cardinals and maybe titmice.  

Thank you, as always, for taking the time to visit my journal.

xo
Debbi