nest

My childhood habit of walking with my eyes down scanning the ground netted me plenty of skinned knees and various bumps and bruises. Looking down I often missed an eye level hazard. But the benefits of my habit were greater than the dangers.

Once I found a five dollar bill, a fortune for an eight-year-old in those days. There were odd earrings, coins, interesting gum wrappers and lots of useless cigarette butts. I clearly remember the first day I came upon a nest. It had been violently shaken out of a tree during a storm the night before. Luckily for me my mom had never been the type to make her children fearful of dirt or the possibility of bugs. I snatched up the nest and took it home.



Once inside my bedroom the nest was placed on my small dressing table which became my scientific laboratory. Turning it over I examined the underpinnings, an incredible structure that held it to a branch. Each layer was carefully laid down. The mud was first and the building blocks of twigs and grasses were patiently added. The weaving was free form and created a pleasing bed, molded perfectly to the birds underbelly with room for her eggs.

My mind struggled to image the work involved. How much mud could a tiny bird carry in their mouth? How many blades of dry grass....how many trips? Once I deconstructed a nest, attempting to count the individual twigs and bits of grass. I gave up. Being a lazy creature the thought of this effort made my head spin. Carefully and industriously this bird had created a nursery for her babies.

Since that day nests have always found a place in my home. They add a bit of nature to the man-made interior landscape. You'll find them tucked on a bookshelf or displayed on a side table. It seems like a welcome sight after yesterdays foray into the world of stainless steel.

Here's a zen like display on my nightstand.



I love to tuck surprises into the nests. Here's a Russian nesting doll temporarily occupying a nest!



I found a manmade nest at Pier One. This is fashioned from grapevines and hold three realistic looking plastic eggs.



The nests are all found on the ground, usually after a bad storm. They do an incubation period on the workbench in my garage, just in case there might be a tiny varmint hiding inside. After a period of time the begin to disintigrate slowly and eventually they're replaced by another.

Do you include natural elements in your home?

Tomorrow: An award!! I've won an award! I can't wait to tell you about it....tomorrow.