Maria’s view of Log Cabin Living

We saw our first robin yesterday, so I guess that Spring is on it’s way to Montana!  In a way, I’m sorry to see Winter leaving, but the freshness of a new season does bring a certain excitement and anticipation to us.   We’re anxious to see the wildflowers bloom, the grass and trees turn green, and the river rise.

The baby wrens pictured here were from last year.  The mom wren had moved into a birdhouse we put on a tree, and she raised her 5 babies there.  We watched her as she brought in sticks and twigs to build her nest.  Before too long, her eggs hatched and we began to hear the peeping of the babies. 

Some time later, the babies began to stick their heads out of the holes, as they hungrily waited for the mom to bring worms or bugs.  This was a seemingly endless process…all day long, mom wren would fly away and soon return with a tidbit for one of them.  I wondered if she could keep up with the 5 little ones’ hunger for food, but she did!   Did she ever find time for herself to eat? 

Then it was time for them to leave the nest, and we were thrilled to watch as each baby cautiously hopped out.  Hours later, after each of the babies had tried to return to the nest, some more than once (who can blame them?  it’s a tough world out there!), they ventured several feet away, into the brushy outskirts of our yard.  They found a heavily wooded bush and a pile of fallen limbs we’d gathered, in which they were able to play for hours, sheltered by the intertwining limbs.  They practiced hopping, perching, and even flew a little, their wings still not strong enough to support them in full flight.  I thought of a baby trying to walk for the first time, still unsure of just exactly what their legs will do.

 After several days and a lot of photo shooting, the little wrens had gained the strength to fly away.  And then they were gone.  We never saw them again.  Even I, as a spectator, felt something of an empty-nest syndrome.  Sure, it was a little quieter without them, but how we missed those baby wrens!