At the Still Point of the Turning World

ANOTHER REMINDER FROM MOTHER NATURE

Posted 9:02 PM by Theresa

Sometimes, when I'm working hard, I lose all sense of the seasons, of time and temperature and change. So it was a wonderful wake-up call to discover these new friends:

These are barnswallows, a mother and two of the four chicks who recently set up a mud/twig/horsehair nest on our front porchlight. I've been watching their progress through the fan-shaped window at the top of the front door, amazed by the rapid development of these little babies. The first day I sighted a chick, his head was nothing more than a little tuft of dryer lint straining towards his mother for food. Now they are so big, they have to rest their little chins at the edge of the nest, and from time to time there's a lot of tussling for position. Their mother is quite dedicated, flying back and forth and back again with regurgitated tidbits for her little flock. She must be doing well. All four look hale and hearty and on their way to fledging in a couple more weeks.

Posted 7:05 AM by Theresa

Posted 9:02 PM by Theresa