I have several planted hanging baskets on my deck. For a while I didn't water them regularly because I was busy at work. Thanks to the occasional winter or spring rain, the plants didn't mind my neglect. Perhaps also because of nature selection, those that needed care had long been eliminated, what's left are thriving on their own and enjoying the California sunshine.
On the morning before my European trip, I thought I'd better to water my plants. So I got on a chair and took down the baskets one at the time, and put it in a plastic basin so it got watered thoroughly.
Wow! Look what I found in this basket! Under the dense leaves of the cascading geranium, there was a small bird nest and four delicate eggs! Lying in the cozy nest, the eggs looked like four babies sleeping soundly and dreaming sweet dreams. Excited, I brought out my camera and began taking pictures, all the while thinking, "I'd better be quick, and put the basket back before the parents come home."
Photo taken, I carefully hang up the basket and tidied up the deck. Then I sat down in a chair to read articles online. I deliberately turned my back to the basket to make it seemed that no one had noticed the secret. But in my mind, I was happy and excited: "Ah ha, I will soon find out what the parents look like. It would so much fun to watch them feeding the baby birds and teaching them how to fly."
Some time later, I heard some noise behind me. Apparently the parents had come back. From their reflections of my laptop screen, I saw one bird landed on the edge of the basket, and another perched on a rafter next to the basket.
What's the matter? The bird in the basket suddenly let out a scream. Did she notice something wrong? The wet soil? Or, did I hang the basket incorrectly?
I wouldn't know. The two birds kept tweeting. Although I don't understand their language, I could sense they were worried and alarmed. They are the kind of songbird that normally sings softly and sweetly. But now, they sounded like an angry couple quarreling.
I became afraid, and dared not to move in my chair. I silently repeated "I am sorry". After a while, the tweeting faded away. The two birds were gone. I prayed in my heart that they would come back to look after their eggs.
After the three-week vacation, the first thing I did when coming home was rushing to the deck to check the eggs in the basket. Alas! They were all gone! Only the lonely, empty nest remains.
I didn't know what happened to the eggs. Then I found a half of an egg shell in a flower pot underneath the hanging basket. It seemed the parent birds had moved house, but during the process, one unfortunate egg was dropped and broken.
Now, I still often hear the same kind of songbirds chirping in the trees outside of my window. I don't know whether the two parent birds and their children are among them. I hope the remaining three eggs all hatched, and the little birds are with their parents, flying and singing happily in the trees and under the sun.
On the morning before my European trip, I thought I'd better to water my plants. So I got on a chair and took down the baskets one at the time, and put it in a plastic basin so it got watered thoroughly.
Wow! Look what I found in this basket! Under the dense leaves of the cascading geranium, there was a small bird nest and four delicate eggs! Lying in the cozy nest, the eggs looked like four babies sleeping soundly and dreaming sweet dreams. Excited, I brought out my camera and began taking pictures, all the while thinking, "I'd better be quick, and put the basket back before the parents come home."
Photo taken, I carefully hang up the basket and tidied up the deck. Then I sat down in a chair to read articles online. I deliberately turned my back to the basket to make it seemed that no one had noticed the secret. But in my mind, I was happy and excited: "Ah ha, I will soon find out what the parents look like. It would so much fun to watch them feeding the baby birds and teaching them how to fly."
Some time later, I heard some noise behind me. Apparently the parents had come back. From their reflections of my laptop screen, I saw one bird landed on the edge of the basket, and another perched on a rafter next to the basket.
What's the matter? The bird in the basket suddenly let out a scream. Did she notice something wrong? The wet soil? Or, did I hang the basket incorrectly?
I wouldn't know. The two birds kept tweeting. Although I don't understand their language, I could sense they were worried and alarmed. They are the kind of songbird that normally sings softly and sweetly. But now, they sounded like an angry couple quarreling.
I became afraid, and dared not to move in my chair. I silently repeated "I am sorry". After a while, the tweeting faded away. The two birds were gone. I prayed in my heart that they would come back to look after their eggs.
After the three-week vacation, the first thing I did when coming home was rushing to the deck to check the eggs in the basket. Alas! They were all gone! Only the lonely, empty nest remains.
I didn't know what happened to the eggs. Then I found a half of an egg shell in a flower pot underneath the hanging basket. It seemed the parent birds had moved house, but during the process, one unfortunate egg was dropped and broken.
Now, I still often hear the same kind of songbirds chirping in the trees outside of my window. I don't know whether the two parent birds and their children are among them. I hope the remaining three eggs all hatched, and the little birds are with their parents, flying and singing happily in the trees and under the sun.
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