Frugal By Design : Decorating With Nature

Decorating With Nature

November 5th, 2006

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Back in the spring, I was sitting in my livingroom, looking out my bay window, when I saw a robin carrying twigs, string and other goodies to the top of the window. A further inspection showed that a Daddy robin was building a nest on top of that bay window. Within a very short time, there were four blue eggs snuggled in the nest.

As it turned out, that was one smart robin. That nest never got rained on. When winds blew, it was protected. Feeding the babies, for both Mom and Dad robin was very convenient. And I was a major protector of them – making sure they weren’t disturbed while they raised their family. Amazingly, all four eggs hatched and all four babies grew to adulthood. I understand that it is rare for that to happen.

After watching and photographing the progress of the babies for the two months it took for them to hatch and fledge, I didn’t have the heart to destroy their nest or leave it out for the elements. As soon as I was sure they were all gone, I brought it inside.

Within days, I found two more nests. One was actually buried in the grass in my yard – I could barely see that it was there. When I got close enough to make out that it was a nest, I was kinda surprised that it was on the ground and in tact. That one was a hummingbird nest – the bottom lined with feathers. It must have been blown out of a tree by the wind.

The last one was in a tree in the front yard – I spotted it when the leaves fell. It also appears to be a robin’s nest.

Here are the three nests, displayed in a still-life in my diningroom. The nest that the pheasant is sitting in is the one that was built on top of my window. The one tipped on its side with the chinese lantern seeds in it is the hummingbird nest.