"MY 2-STORY BIRD NEST"
Have you ever seen a 2-story bird nest?
No? Then I'll tell you about mine. . .
On my front porch it happens to be,
Could it mean, "it's a lucky sign"?
There is this pair of pretty swallows,
Several years in a row, they've arrived. . .
Making my front porch their summer home,
Don't know why, but here they've survived.
Do you think they lost their way?
Capistrano is their place to go. . .
I live in Liberty City ~ FM 1252,
In East Texas with my cat, "Calico".
Let's look closely at this nest,
The 1st story looks like sticks and hay. . .
Last Fall, water hose in hand, I squirted water,
The nest stayed put but the sand washed away.
Now as you look at the 2nd story,
Neatly each piece was placed by the swallow. . .
To protect her eggs and nestlings to be,
It was built so snug and ready to show.
I did not remove last year's nest,
As you can see, they built a new home. . .
Right smack-dab on top of the old one,
I do not think they'll ever roam.
I've never seen how many eggs,
The mother swallow lays. . .
I'm often tempted to climb up,
But, JR tells me, "please stay away".
Sometimes I sit on the porch to watch,
Soon the swallows come gliding in . . .
But seeing me, they glide in circles,
Swooping by the porch until they win.
In her nest, I just had to peek,
With kitchen step-ladder and camera in hand. . .
To the front porch, J.R. and I went,
To discover her nest was made with sand.
The photos showed me the little nestlings,
Four or five feathered babies were there. . .
Soon their nest they'll outgrow,
Off they'll fly: I won't know where.
I'll look for them again next year,
But they will have to build anew. . .
The 2-story nest will be torn down,
My porch is home for the "swallows two".
Vina Carathers
May 4 ~ 12, 2002
