Out of the Nest …
Author: Mary Keating
For: Active Lifestyles Magazine
Date: May 2006
276 words
Somewhere between planting flat after flat of vibrant flowers each spring and sitting under her red umbrella drinking coffee, my mother has taken on the role of midwife to a host of birds who have meticulously crafted their homes in her garden.
Over the years, hundreds of birds have nested in her yard. One family set up their home in a luscious fern. Consequently, the fern had to forgo watering because, of course, you wouldn’t want to disrupt the nest. All the baskets in and around her patio cover have, at one time or another, been called home.
Oddly, the midwifery has captured my dad as well. Both Helen and George Sedlmayer have taken mirrors to witness the amazing cracking of the shell, hoisted their grand daughters into the air to see the babies, and have photographed and witnessed numerous first looks at the world. We all have sat quietly for hours to capture that unbelievable first flight.
Quietness often precedes the flight. Then a symphony of chirps reaches a crescendo. A rather tentative little bird clings to the nest. Finally, with much encouragement, the little bird hops into the air, spreads its wings and haphazardly flaps to the closes resting spot. The symphony begins again. It takes a few times before the little bird gains confidence, learns to use their radar and can fly in a straight and calculated direction.
Now, I would never call either of my parents avid bird watchers in the sense that they go beyond their own fence to watch and study the feathered creatures. It appears that they have become roommates in a garden filled with sounds, activity and color.