Nesting

Looking out Kelly's bedroom window on Mason Street I could almost see the bird shiver in the cold. The newly built nest with its anxious mother perched there made for a desolate scene as I watched both bird and its home become covered in snowy sleet. Not a pleasant sight. Yet it is one I saw several times living there. Michigan is known for its fickle weather. Yet with the first signs of spring there is the joy of watching the familiar robin build its nest. One was always built in that skraggly pine in the back yard. But this time, the cold and wet smothered the joy of spring. As long as I lived on Mason Street I watched for the returning robin and prayed that its nesting would not be in vain.
From our bedroom on Curwood Road I watched the squirrels scamper around the huge oak that shaded our yard. The perfect spot for a bird house! We purchased one our second year there and every year thereafter a little family moved in early in the spring. I often awoke to the chirping of the young creatures housed there. Much better than the noisey alarm.
I had never noticed the birds when we lived in Santa Cruz years ago even though we lived close to the Rio Pirari, probably because I was too busy running after three active boys and quiet bird watching moments didn't exist.
But now, just outside our bedroom window there is a lovely sight. A graceful yet very nervous chalky -blue bird has engineered a small nest in the fronds of the palm trees gracing our property. I noticed the bird there on Sunday. On Monday the nest was finished. If I sit quietly I can watch the anxous mother. A nest, a home.
Condo number 38 in ForteVentura is our new home, and yet I keep talking about going "home" next week, back to the USA. I wonder if the blue bird has come to help me realize that this nest is now my home.