It was first thing in the morning and I was leaning against the kitchen counter holding a steaming cup of tea, looking out our glass door, when my son Alex came into the room.
“What are you looking at?” he asked.
I pointed at our railing as I took a sip from my cup. “That poor thing right there.” I said showing him the robin who was busy making a nest on the railing of our back porch. It was less then a foot away from our kitchen door.
Alex shook his head. “That’s not a very good spot.”
“Before I went to bed last night I noticed some sticks and moss on the railing but I thought it had just blown up there from the storm.” I had to shake my head too. “What made her think that would be a safe spot?”
We watched as she flew off. I put my cup down on the counter before I opened the back door to take a closer peek at the nests progress.
Standing next to it I could see it already had the rounded form of a nest. I was reaching over to touch it when Alex pulled my arm down to stop me.
“What are you doing?” Alex asked.
“I’m seeing if it’s secured to the railing or if a gust of wind could knock it off.” I pushed the nest ever so slightly and could see it wasn’t attached to anything.
“Nope.” I shook my head. “That’s going to go flying in the next storm.” I looked over the edge of the railing and could see the robin standing by a tree holding a small stick in her beak.
“Let’s go back inside.”
Once inside I picked up my cup of tea and took another sip. We watched as she climbed in her nest, settling down with a quick wiggle of her body and placed the stick next to her. She then used her beak to move the sticks and moss around her body forming more of the nest.
“Now what are we going to do?” I sighed.
“What do you mean?” Alex looked confused. “It can’t stay there. We’re out on the porch a dozen times a day!”
“I know.” I watched as she pushed the nest closer to her body. “But she’s so determined.” I looked over at Alex. “It would only be for a few weeks.”
“Are you kidding me!” Alex shook his head. “You don’t want us using the porch for weeks?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “It’s for the babies.”
“Didn’t you just say the next storm would blow it off the railing?”
Now I was feeling torn. “Yeah.” I said reluctantly.
“So you mean to tell me you’re okay with her building a nest, laying her eggs and then a wind storm blowing it away?”
“Well, when you say it like that…”
That’s when my husband Steven came into the kitchen holding up his mug. “Coming in for my second cup of coffee.”
Alex looked over at him. “Mom wants us to give up the porch until the robins eggs are hatched.” Alex was pointing out the window.
Steven looked over at the nest. “That’s a pretty stupid place to build a nest.”
I sighed. “I didn’t say she was bright. But she’s very hard working.”
We watched as she flew from the nest to get more material.
Steven opened the back door, picked up the nest and went over by the fire pit to lay it down on the edge.
“You’re going to burn it?” I cried.
Steven was headed back to the kitchen. “Sure. It’ll make great kindling for our next fire.”
“Well, now I just feel awful.” I said as I watched him walk over to the sink to wash his hands.
“Why?” Steven grabbed a paper towel and was drying off his hands when I looked out the window. The robin had landed on the railing with a twig in her beak hopping back and forth looking for her nest.
I shook my head. “I don’t even know what to say to her.”
Steven grabbed his mug and went over to the coffee maker to refill it. “Tell her the next time she’s out with her realtor she needs to talk about finding a better location.”
Alex started to laugh but stopped when he saw the look on my face. He shrugged his shoulders. “Well, I don’t know about you but I’m going to go sit out on the porch and get some sun.”
Slice of Life 