A WELCOME VISITOR....FROM ANOTHER SPECIES

This Spring we had a blackbird family that decided to nest in our garage, high on a shelf near the entrance to the garden. Over a month or so we watched as they built their nest. Mother and father, quite different in colour, he black and she brown, kept busily feeding in our our garden and trees and adding to the nest. Then, one day, when they were both out flying and foraging, I climbed the ladder and discovered some eggs.
From then onwards, we kept our distance, respecting their privacy, but it was just possible as we entered the garage so see Mother sitting there, still and silent.
One day I was so impressed by her patience that I penned a few lines.

What a picture of patience!

Unmoving you sit there,
still,
in the moment,
totally given to the task,
unflinching as doors bang and people shout,
unreponsive to the cries of parrots and pigeons,
so still,
so calm,
so composed,
so concentrated.
May we learn from you, our patient guest.

A few weeks later, I checked the nest and found two tiny newly born birds, all beak and skin. Would they survive? we kept observing as parents faithfully cared for them and then, one afternoon. I found one baby hopping around the back garden and the other, more timid, perched on the edge of a sieve near the nest, plucking up courage to take off.He is there in the photo.
I was reminded of the short story, HIS FIRST FLIGHT, in our Year 10 English book of 1951. This experience has produced a flood of memories.