Friday, June 3, 2011

I'm Afraid The Robin News Is Not Good... :-(

     Sometimes life can be hard. That's the lesson I learned from the whole 'Robin Story'. :-( I guess you can deduce from what I've already said that this is not going to be my usual happy, upbeat robin story. I'm reduced this morning to forcing myself to find something to be positive about in all of this.
     I guess I can be happy that hubby snuck up there in the tree and took these beautiful photos of her nest, with the gorgeous turquoise eggs in it. And they are some beautiful shots of her finished work, all perfectly placed in the branches, with the egg babies safely tucked inside.
       The rest of the story...after the bad storm with tornado winds that hit us suddenly here in Massachusetts the other day...is not good. :-( I think I told you that during the storm, with the wind and rain whipping the trees around in the backyard, the robin nest took a beating. Part of the nest was hanging sideways at one point, and mama robin was making all kinds of noise. We could hear her above the sound of the whipping winds.
        It doesn't look so perfectly sculptured anymore...
     ...and I guess you can also see...*sigh*...there's no eggs in it anymore either. :-(
     They're on the ground...
     ...all broken up. :-( It must have been a long drop from here...
     ...because now all that's left is remnants of eggs...
    And WARNING...if those didn't make you cry, this one might...it did me. :-(
      That makes two years in a row now that mama robin has chosen this tree to put her beautiful nest in. And two years in a row that a sudden storm in the backyard ripped up her work. :-( When I was thinking about it, I wondered how I would handle this kind of disaster if it had been my babies?!
    And it seems so sad that there's one egg on the ground that still looks like it's perfectly intact.
     We didn't dare touch it...Do robins sit on eggs that are on the ground?! We didn't know if there was still a chance for this little one or not...I can tell you though, that mama robin flew off yesterday afternoon and I haven't seen her again.
    As sad as this is, I've learned some unforgettable lessons from this robin in all of this. Lessons of tenacity, 'stick-to-a-tiveness', patience, courage, and...how to move on. She's probably somewhere right now preparing another nest. (In a safer spot I hope!) And I'm left with a feeling of sadness that I'm sure will lift in a couple of days...especially as I see mama robin swooping all over the backyard looking for food for her new babies. {That's what happened last year}
    Funny how life is full of lessons everywhere...even in disaster...If we take the time to learn them, I mean.

Take A Lesson From The Robin

I can learn a lesson
from the robins in the tree.
I can keep on going,
and let nothing bother me.

Watching from my window
as the mama made her nest,
I could see her hard work;
How she always gave her best.

Flying back and forth,
finding just the right nest twig.
If there was some music
it would be a great dance jig.

When the nest was perfect,
she was off to find a beau.
(Men today should take a clue,
Nest First!...The way to go!)

After Birdie dating,
(and she didn't have to beg!)
There was a lot of sitting
on a beautiful turquoise egg!

There actually were three
that she sat on...come what may!
I can take a lesson
from the patience of her day.

I thought of just how happy
those egg babies must have been.
Having mama always with them;
Sat on by a loving kin.

But then there was disaster!
A bad storm to my backyard.
Watching winds tear down her work...
emotionally hard.

As I heard her making noises
for her babies, all now dead,
I also learned a lesson;
from my heart now to my head.

The lesson is that life
sometimes takes a crooked turn,
and it will be about the way
you cope, and what you learn.

When the storm was over,
and her call no longer came,
She flew off to begin again.
A story all the same.

She'll build another nest,
and put her loss behind.
And I have learned the lesson,
and I'll live my life in kind.

Sometimes the past is daunting,
and sometimes you must move on.
There 'can' be happy future,
even though the past is gone.       

28 comments:

  1. Oh no, such a sad post. Really feel for the poor Robin. I'm not sure if you should try and look after the remaining egg - if she doesn't come back it's got no chance, but if she does and you've touched it...well then she'll reject it won't she?

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  2. I've never seen robin eggs before, they're beautiful. Mama Robin is a strong birdy and I know she'll keep on trying. Hope all is safe and sound over there. Thanks for sharing this beautiful and heartfelt post.

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  3. This is indeed a sad post my friend. I had hoped all would be well, but it's all a part of the cycle of life with animals. They're used to things like this happening and, as you said, they move on and start again. (That's what hubby always tells me when my cats bring me "gifts!") Isn't it something to think about though, that Jehovah knows when a bird goes through this. When eggs fall from a tree and I'm sure it saddens him as well. We're normal in feeling the sadness for sure.
    Nice poem today too! Fits well with the theme.
    Have a wonderful day and weekend my friend and don't let this get you down too much.

    ENTER ME

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  4. Creating Trouble, I was thinking the same thing. :-( That's why we didn't bother it. Sad to see it just sitting there though. Thanks for the input though.

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  5. OLD BRAND NEW, They really are beautiful...But not so beautiful on the ground! Oh well, I think you're right. Mama robin 'is' a strong birdie! Tenacious about doing things too. I'm sure she'll start again. Thanks for the nice comment...Have a good weekend!

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  6. CinLynn, Thanks so much, as always, for the nice words of encouragement my friend. Yeah, I'll be okay in a couple of days. I feel some comfort in allowing myself to feel things, digest it, and then be able to move on. I'm a 'emotions on the sleeve' type of girl, but I think that's also why I can find the 'sunny side of things' faster. I don't pretend the bad didn't happen. I except it, grieve it, and then...move on...And yeah, you're right about Jehovah knowing too. It reminded me of the scripture in Matthew 10:29 about how a sparrow wouldn't fall to the ground without his notice...It also reminded me of the song by Tanya Tucker: "Two Sparrows in a Hurricane"

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUsyHVjacJ0&playnext=1&list=PLA10E8EF5D3AA116A

    Thanks for the nice words about the poem too. And you're entered again!

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  7. Oh no! Poor babies.

    After that tornado, I won't be the same. Downtown Springfield looks so... sad. Anyway, I guess after every storm there's sun and a beautiful day....

    Like the poem.

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  8. Oh now how sad :( I had hoped that the robin's nest would be safe. what a fitting poem you've written too. Perhaps she will be back making another nest soon.

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  9. Priscila, I KNOW!!! :-( My hubby got caught in the traffic coming by Springfield yesterday...slow enough to actually see all the damage from the highway. He was miserable! :-( But as you say, after every storm there's some sun. And yesterday and today...BEAUTIFUL!...Thanks for the poem love too. Have a good weekend!

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  10. Jo-anne, I know Jo. We all were hoping so. :-( But oh well. Onward to a new nest now...I'm glad you liked the poem too. Thank you...Have a good weekend too!

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  11. awww, that's so sad. I don't know about saving the last egg, never seen a robin's egg and wouldn't know how to care for it.

    last week we had some strong winds and I found a nest on the patio's table. I went to see if there were any eggs but there weren't. then later I saw the bird flying around it, as if not sure what to do, then it flew away. It was so sad not to be able to do anything.

    what a terrible thing that happened in your home state, I hope you find some comfort. sending you a big hug.

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  12. As soon as I saw the 1st picture above and i recalled the storm, I put it all together. Wow, how sad. Animals are the forgotten element whenever we have extreme weather. They lose their lives and houses too.
    Hopefully we are past this cycle of bad weather and can have a calm finish to Spring.


    Lisa

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  13. Elisa, I've just let the egg sit there for now. I don't know what to do with it either. I'm hoping against hope that she'll come back and sit on it. I know....wishful thinking. :-( Apparently your bird's nest had been blown from it's place too! It almost seems like the bird's 'give up as lost' anything they know they can't do anything about...Another good lesson for us humans! :-] ...Thanks for the kind words about the storm we had too. Clean-up has been underway every since then. LOTS of damage! But things will get back to normal...or as close as possible...soon.

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  14. Lisa, 'Animals...the forgotten element'. I never heard it expressed like that, but to a certain extent I think you're right. Whenever we start thinking about the damage of weather and so forth we rarely think FIRST about the animals!...Maybe that's because they 'get on with it' so well that we forget!...Somehow, though I don't think the weather is going to 'play nice' and be calm for the rest of the season!! :-)) We'll see!...At any rate, I hope you have a good weekend!

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  15. This is so sad and finding that egg with the chick, it did me teary eyed! I guess I am an oddball because with disasters, natural or otherwise, the animals who call it home are my first thoughts.

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  16. trusk4u, Thinking of the animals first doesn't make you an oddball!!! It makes you 'sensitive'. That's a good thing in my book!!...I guess I am too, because as soon as I saw that little dead chick in that egg I started bawling like a baby. :-(

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  17. I think you're right, tragedy and devastation are just day to day occurrences for animals. We are very out of touch with the struggle to survive in the elements.
    Again, happy to hear that you are ok!

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  18. There is a wonderful pair of ducks near my parent's house (they mate for life I've heard...the ducks, that is), and their nest gets overtaken my raccoons each year. So sad! Reminded me of your robbins.

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  19. So sad for the little birds. But, your poem is lovely. The robin will be back next year, and hopefully have success.

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  20. Lisa, Humans have their own struggles! We just don't handle solutions as 'matter-of-factly' as animals! For them things work as things were designed to work. Humans are always aware that their decisions can change things somewhat. And for those things we know we can't change...it's sometimes hard to accept! O_0 ...And again, thank you for your concern...truly.

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  21. James, Answers.com says regarding ducks: "Rarely any mate for life. The Mandarin and the Wood ducks are among the two most popular known ducks to actually mate for life, but most of the other ducks don't."

    So maybe your mom has a pair of Mandarin or wood ducks!...But either way, who wants to have their nest overtaken by raccoons every year?!! UGH!!...That could explain that bandit-ty look?!! ^_^ But I agree...sad. For them and my robins.

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  22. Darlene, Sounds like you have a positive mind-set, like the robins. 'Try, try, again'!!...Who knows, maybe year three will be the charm! :-]...And thank you so much for the nice words about my poem too!

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  23. how sad. your poem is beautiful, though. i recently had a miscarriage and for some reason your poem made me feel a little bit better about things. thanks for sharing :)

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  24. Your poem made me cry :(

    Poor babies :(

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  25. s + b, Awwww... :-( I'm so sorry. I've had many friends that have had miscarriages too. Tough!...I'm glad my poem could give you some comfort. I guess all of us 'can' take lessons from the robins, right?! Still...;'_'; Welcome to the backyard too. I hope to hear more of your 'robin' story.

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  26. Alittlesprite, :-( I'm so sorry. Didn't mean to make you cry. That's just how I was feeling. And you know me...feel it...write a poem about it...

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  27. So sorry! We had 2 robin babies in the holly bush right by the back door, and they survived the storm just fine. Just yesterday they left the nest, and I was thrilled. But sadly, I found 1 baby dead later that afternoon, on the ground underneath the nest. I think a hawk got him ( I won't go into the gory details). I was totally devastated. :(

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  28. Wendy, I feel your pain...and I can tell that you can feel mine. :-( Thanks for sharing. Tough, isn't it?!

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