There has to be something wrong with the rotation of the earth. I know this because it is obvious I am getting shorted days in my months. Take for instance this month. I start my blog entries a little later than usual, but no worries, I have plenty of time to get my quota in. Then all of a sudden I am staring at 2 days left in the month and I am sitting at only 5 posts. Oddly enough, the tides do not appear to be affected much by the increased earth spin, but it may be the reason for all the rain we are getting and the fact I woke up to about 60 degree weather at the end of August. Guessing Gore finds that fact an inconvenient reality.
No fear, I have plenty of content to pull from our vacation this year. On our trip, we stayed at a Best Western in the Jackson Hole Wyoming resort area. On a side note, that night’s stay was the most expensive place we stayed the entire trip. I recommend finding somewhere else if you do not want to pay through the nose for a place to sleep. As we were leaving, we passed a window looking out into the pool area. It was too cold to actually swim outdoors, but I find it nearly impossible to pass a window without taking a look. Besides, there just might be a blogging opportunity waiting for me to observe. Sure enough, there it was sitting a few feet out from the window.
My guess is you are not too impressed by this particular robin, especially if they are as common in your area as they are in Illinois. Although it was somewhat interesting that this particular bird would choose to nest so close to people (lots of people were continually passing this window but based on my analysis, very few of them were taking the time to take a peak). So what was the tipping point that warranted taking the time to get the camera out? … and by time I mean a lot of time trying to figure out the best way to shoot through the glass and get the focus through the numerous evergreen branches. Hit the jump to find out
When the robin realized I had found it sitting in the nest, it became very concerned and agitated. This intrigued me since it had to be somewhat accustomed to humans walking by as a result of where it chose to build the nest. It is the little things that tend to catch my attention. I decided to keep an eye on our feathered friend and see what was up. Then it revealed the secret.
Again, I was fighting the window and the pine branches which fuzzed this one up a bit but you should see the little ones. All of those people passing on their busy schedules missed this beautiful shot of nature’s lifecycle. This made the high price for the room a little more bearable (just a little!). I probably stood at that window for 20 minutes just observing the nest. They must be able to sense when one of their parents is near because when one is around, they immediately raise their heads up, pop their beaks open and await the tasty regurgitation.
The parents were not happy with me staring at them and guessing in hopes of getting me to leave and stop watching their babies, they stayed out of sight. Eventually, the little ones gave up on the attempt for food and fell asleep in a matter of minutes. Unlike the most of nature’s inhabitants, the offspring of robins are really not that cuddly looking.
It occurred to me that my presence was significantly inconveniencing this family and keeping the parents from carrying out their duties. I moved to the side of the window and stood there for a little bit to make sure one of the parents were still willing to come back to them. Soon, one of the parents returned with worm in beak, did a thorough check of the surroundings and then returned to the feeding and care of the little ones. I enjoyed the time observing this family and glad I took the time to break away from the grind of life and take in a rare sight. Try it sometime you might just get things back in perspective.
Oh, one other thing about the hotel we stayed in. When the elevator opened up on our floor, we were greeted with this image.
My heart skipped a beat, maybe two, before my fear of being lunch was replaced with appreciation for creativity. Now I know how animals in the zoo must feel.
Hope you enjoyed and now relieved by hitting my blog quota for the month
