Empty Nest

The last baby finch flew off yesterday morning. He or she was the smallest of the bunch, but finally developed enough to take the first leap. I saw both parent Finches pearched nearby on the fence and then one at a time, they would fly onto the nest that once held their five babies. A couple of chirps and they would take off. Both parents flew onto the nest probably wondering where they went. I read it is not uncommon for the parents to continue to feed their offsprings for an additional two weeks. Somewhere out there, all five are flying ,,I hope. For a moment I would have thought they might come back close to where they were born and raised. I took some binoculars with me to look around for them, no luck. I looked for them throughout the day and still didn't see a sign of them. I wondered if I would even recognize them.

This process sparked a new interest I did not think I would ever even consider. Now when I run at Bonelli Park, I am very conscious of birds I see, pointing out the house finches that are in the area, and boy there are lots out there. I saw some real pretty ones with yellow chests. So I asked my wife about buying one for the house and she replied, oh no,,, three dogs and a dumpy frog are enough. We don't need another pet. I had to agree with her. Im still trying to convince her to give away the two white dogs we took in two years ago.

I think our lives are so busy that at times we do not see whats around us and what is around us is lots of life constantly reproducing and surviving in a way that is amazing. So the process continues. Those two finches are probably already preparing another nest somewhere else to produce another brood of finches. I can only be fortunate to have them do this process before my eyes again. For now all I have is an empty nest.