This morning we awoke to rain. Now, in early evening, the sky is milky, a breeze blows in from the lake, and the air is warm.
A couple of hours after I posted last, a commotion arose on the front porch; the robin on duty had seen a cat and raised the alarm. I walked onto the porch but could not locate the cat, so I searched the azaleas. My back was to the next when I heard a whirring of wings and found myself surrounded by a swirl of birds; the chicks had fledged!
At that point Jennie came out, saw the fledglings land in the yard, noted the cat nearby, and gave chase, much to the apparent approval of the parents. For a couple of days we could hear the robins’ constant communication as the young moved about the yard. For the past three or four days there has been no sign of the robins; after weeks of their constant chatter the silence seems lonely and a tad disconcerting.
Once again the kids have left home and the house feels empty.
Dreaming the World 
I know the feeling. Bittersweet. And sometimes downright painful.
Exactly. Odd that those feelings still return.
Gosh, I feel that emptiness sometimes!
Mary, it is so human, eh?
I’m glad that the robins fledged and were given a little helping hand to evade the cat!
Andrea, Odd how much responsibility we felt. Great to be acknowledged by the robin parents. The past couple of days I have seen more robins and wonder if ours are now part of the flock.
I’m so glad that they successfully fledged! Those first days are treacherous…I’ve watched the yorkie next door wipe out more than one young robin family, despite my best efforts. (Fences, you know…my boys jumped over but coldn’t get there fast enough).
We hope they survived, and have good reason to believe at least one did. Sadly, our pets are a huge threat to birds, just as they are a boon and solace to us.