On April 5th I went out on my back deck to repot some plants.
I had left a bag of potting soil out there all winter.
When I opened up the bag, a bird flew out of the bag and scared the crap out of me.
Upon further investigation I discovered a nest in the bag of potting soil.
There were 5 eggs in the nest.
I hoped I hadn’t freaked Mama Bird out too much causing her to abandon the nest.
She wasn’t gone for long.
My office has windows that look onto the deck, and my puzzle table is right in front of the window, so I had a front row seat to the nest action.
Every day when I had some puzzle time I’d watch Papa Bird bring food to the mama while she was in the nest.
When there were two birds flying in and out of the bag I knew the babies had hatched.
I texted updates to the kids who weren’t nearly as excited about this little bird family as I was.
I determined it was a Carolina Wren.
Naturally, I named the parents Charles and Caroline.
Every day I watched the Ingalls family.
Caroline worked nonstop all day, every day.
Before too long I knew their calls and songs and would run to the window whenever I heard them.
I could hear the babies crying as soon as Charles and Caroline entered the nest with food.
I set up my phone out on the deck so I could get a better look at what was going on.
I could see up close the different kinds of bugs they were bringing. It was pretty cool.
When one of the nestlings jumped ship and fell out of the nest, I put her back in.
When some bigger birds were lurking around the deck I scared them away.
I became SUPER invested and attached to this little bird family for some reason.
I loved having them around. I loved hearing them all day long.
I was hoping to catch the babies leaving the nest. I could tell it was getting close because there was a ton of activity between Charles and Caroline, and the babies’ voices were starting to change a little bit.
I have a deck off of my bedroom, right above the deck with the nest.
I’ve been hanging out on the upstairs deck for the past month, so I didn’t disturb the nest.
Late on Tuesday afternoon I was sitting on the deck outside my bedroom, and the weirdest thing happened.
Either Charles or Caroline flew up and sat on the railing of the deck.
I think it was Caroline.
We looked at each other.
And then a couple minutes later, she did it again.
I had been sitting up on that deck, listening to the birds below me for a month.
She had never flown up there before.
On Wednesday morning after I drove the kids to school I came straight to my office.
I waited for Caroline and Charles.
It seemed extra quiet.
Five minutes went by.
Then ten.
Then twenty.
I’d never gone twenty minutes without seeing or hearing any of the birds.
I waited ten more minutes, and still, there was nothing.
I went out onto the porch.
I peeked into the top of the bag.
The babies were gone.
The whole family was gone.
The had all literally left the nest.
All day Wednesday everything was so much more quiet than usual.
For two days, I looked out the window out of habit, forgetting the Ingalls were gone.
I was super sad. Like surprisingly sad.
It took me a couple days to look out the window and not be bummed.
I think Caroline was saying goodbye to me on Tuesday.
I have a ton of respect for her.
She was on 24/7 duty and high alert for a month. Non stop.
I hope she’s getting some rest now, and I hope Laura, Mary, Carrie, Albert, and Grace all make it.
And Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there doing their best to keep their kids alive. ❤️
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