And just like that....they were gone.

I had a little gift in my backyard this year. A robin built her nest in the crook of my willow tree. She patiently sat and kept her eggs warm. She squawked and screamed if we got too close, and would even send in her mate to make sure the coast was clear after we would retreat.  She braved brutal winds...so bad my tree lost some branches, and bent all the way into the neighbors yard at time...and she covered those eggs when hail was beating her little body mercilessly.

She tirelessly searched for bugs and critters to feed three little mouths once those baby birds hatched...(daddy helped too I might add) and then...like that.. they are gone.

I really thought I would get to see the babes taking their first stumbly attempts at flying...but alas, their nest lies empty. Only to serve as a reminder of that precious momma bird who despite weather and heat and cold, created three new songs this spring.