Sam is nothing if not vigilant. He was the first to notice that a family had claimed our planter as their new home. He has faithfully monitored the progress of the developing baby birds from his post on the other side of the glass. There was much to see this past week. Mom and Dad were a catering service delivering moths and worms to their brood.

We knew that the babies would soon be strong enough to fly out of our planter and our lives, but even if you know something will happen, it can still take you by surprise. I knew something had changed when Sam abandoned his post yesterday afternoon. The little birds were gone. All but one. Sadly, one little one didn’t survive. I guess he just wasn’t strong enough to make it out in the world, and nature let him die peacefully while still in the nest.

Our little bird family has been an important part of out lives for the past few weeks. They’ll be missed.