As we sat there in silence I grew aware of the awesomeness and majesty of nature. The image still vivid in my mind as I reflect back to the expression on dad's face viewing the full splendor of mountain peaks and valleys and meadows... never having to speak the words. I saw it in his face, his eyes, and demeanor. I felt it in my heart. The message of awe and respect imprinted on my soul. Dad taught his family to love and respect nature. To marvel in its beauty and recognize God's hand in all things created in the sky above and the earth beneath. He taught us to observe nature with sensitivity and to allow nature to take its course. That was a necessary part of life.
I had one such experience in June of 2012 when I watched, with awe, a bird build a nest.. a home for her eggs... day after day, straw upon straw, feather and twigs... in our bbq grill. Such an unlikely place I thought, but I was intrigued with the effort put into building the nest. I watched.
One day I lifted the lid carefully to observe its progress and was surprised to find a beautiful miniature blue egg. Additional eggs were added over the next 4 days bringing the total to 5. The mother bird sat on her eggs day after day, only leaving her nest for nourishment.
The days turned into weeks and I knew the time had passed for the eggs to hatch. Although the grill was the ideal place to build a nest and keep it protected from predators, the sun rays beating down on the metal lid made it too hot for survival. I felt sorrow for this mother that could not give life to her babies. Nature had taken its course. A necessary part of life.
Inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop
Yes, at first I thought building a nest in the BBQ was a wonderful idea! I bet she won't do it again.
ReplyDeleteLet nature take its course - wise advice!
Awww. There's nothing to be done, but so sad. Did you know what kind of bird it was?
ReplyDeleteThat would have made me sad too. A bird built a nest in a small tree on my property and three of my cats took the baby birds. I saw one in my cat's mouth. They are only acting on instinct but it did make me sad.
ReplyDeleteThis is very well written. I really like what you wrote. I would love to see in person what that bird nest looks like. Never seen one before.
ReplyDeleteDad's lessons sunk deep into the heart. On our recent visit to Martins Cove I stood by myself on the fringes of a marsh and watched as a brooding pair of Osprey hunted mice and fed them to their chicks. It was amazing. I got so homesick for dad--that was the last place we camped together.
ReplyDelete