Wild Life / postcard
happy spring! the robins are back
I drew this robin a few years ago, when the birds first returned, busy strutting and running like arrows along the ground, pulling worms, gathering twigs, building nests.
We got to watch a pair make their nest in the rhododendron, and then watch them care for their four brilliant blue eggs. The hatchlings were tiny and pink with fuzzy heads; then fluffier with mouths gaping open. I always thought babies peeped for their food, but these were like silent movies (the forest is full of predators).
One morning I noticed the chicks barely fit inside the nest; they were all layered on top of each other, wings over wings. One was at the edge of the nest, sitting quietly. It sat there for a few minutes while I watched, but then I had to leave. When I returned later that day, there were only two birds in the nest. Then, the next morning, there was only one, perched at the edge of the nest. It sat there quietly for a while. The next morning, the nest was empty.
The robins are back again, their orange bellies big and round. I like to think of them at that moment of truth, sitting at the edge of the nest, contemplating the future, pondering the world out there—and then leaping into the unknown.
This newsletter is a small weekly adventure about the life around us. I’ll be back next Friday with a full Wild Life newsletter (consider this one a postcard). By all means, please share with family and friends. Happy spring!