Thursday, June 29, 2017

What One Day Brings

Sunday evening. It had been an exhausting week. By Sunday I had nothing left. I felt raw, exposed, spiralling down into despair.

I was compelled to drive to the Nest. As I approached, it appeared to be as empty as I was.

Then I noticed the black bird perched on the top of the tree, scolding away. And I heard the response at the same moment I saw the parent shooting into view.



I peered more closely; was that a slight movement?





The parent retreated to a nearby tree to keep an eye on the proceedings. How were the fledglings going to learn to look after themselves if she was there all the time?


 


As I took in the wings spread protectively over the nest, God reminded me of His promise in the 91st Psalm: "He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge." His unobtrusive presence would shield me from this wave of the internal storm.

I found I could breathe a little easier ...

Monday at noon. We were rushing into Red Deer, but we stopped for literally two minutes.

Where had the babies gone?! If it wasn't for the two fussbudget adults, I would have thought there had been a coup.



But look at the baby heads supported on the suddenly awkward adolescent bodies ...


Monday evening. Rushing back for chores. How could we not stop, just for a moment?

The blackbird with the red heart appeared fed up with yet another intrusion..


But who was this?


Just like the previous evening, the stronger baby was keeping watch over its frailer sibling.



It was time to go home.

2 comments:

Bronwyn Spilsbury said...

I couldn't figure out the answer to your last post's question. I thought it was perhaps another parent bird. Now I gather it was one of the siblings protecting the other!! The oldest one, no doubt... ��

The Sidekick said...

Yes; when I saw all those mature tail feathers on the third person in the nest, I wondered if the bird I had thought of as the mum was in reality the dad. But the newby's head was too young and fuzzy. It's a mystery!