All Things Bright and Beautiful

 I noticed the dried grassy bits on our welcome mat before anything else.  Made me look up.

Yup.  There it is.  I'm no ornithologist, but I'm betting that's a robin's nest.  And since there's really no inobtrusive way of finding out whether or not there are already eggs in there, we're leaving it alone.

For now.

There's a both/and about this for me.  

We had specifically asked our contractor to be sure to close off a similar space at the front of the house during the last stages of finishing the fascia and eves to prevent exactly this.  They did so, and quite beautifully.  But neither of us caught this little alcove just at the other end of the side veranda where the extended piece of the roof coming down crossways meets up with the roofline continuing out to the back of the house.

Good news is that, despite these wispy bits blowing onto the mat in front of the door, the nest itself is positioned off the end.  I'm fairly confident that any unsightly droppings will be deposited straight to the ground right below.  This will make our sublet situation much more enjoyable.

Which is the 'and' part of the both/and.  As a new homeowner, I do not want wildlife living in our eves.  As a forest-friend whisperer, I find myself admittedly pleased that they found our home to be a safe and sheltered space.

I doubt I'll have much chance for any interaction.  I'm not yet sitting outside long enough, or even positioned properly enough to quietly wait and see exactly who is nesting with us.  But the idea is pleasing.  And I'll keep any eye out anyways, and keep you updated if anything exciting happens.

A cursory look at what the Bible says about God's relationship to animals begs a deeper study for another day.  But I will note here how God's care for animals is connected to His faithfulness, and righteousness, and justice, and love in Psalm 36:6-7.  (And for creative effect, I'll note the tie-in splash of blue sky in the photo above.)

"Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens,

your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,

your justice like the great deep.

You, LORD, preserve both people and animals.

How priceless is your unfailing love, O God."

And because it comes to mind, and I can't help myself, I'll add this from Matthew 6:26.

"Look at the birds of the air,

they do not sow or reap or store away in barns,

and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not much more valuable than they?"

Happy day-after-Federal-Election everyone.

No matter how we voted, we now have a fresh new era ahead of us.

And we're in good Hands.