The Wrens

The wrens are all gone now and I am sad and lonely for their company once more. What joy your family brought me those two short weeks me thinking I was protecting you somehow when the pesky Jay came to call for the grubworms I had set out for you but you needed no help from me. The beautiful, persistent, feisty git 'er done wren. And then, one morning last weekend I awoke to a clatter in the apple tree adjacent to my camper; when I came out to look see I saw it was not danger but a celebration! The babies were out and you and Mrs. Finch were squawking with delight (or squabbling over a trifle!) And then, before you all departed for good for parts and a life that would be forever unknown to me, I had a moment with your youngest, the last out of the nest. Perched ever so briefly on the wheel of my cooler, she took me in fully, unafraid, then alighted into the fenceline. I hope you all make it to the end of your natural lives; I hope I do too. Eli Hunter 7/3/24