A Hawk and a Nest

Today, Isaiah’s sixth birthday, Phil went out to do chores and found that all the hydrants were not working. He headed up to the $1000 pump house and found the light bulb burned out and the tank frozen solid. Hmm. So much for the warming effect of the pilot light. Thankfully, he doesn’t think there is any permanent damage done; no frozen lines, no expensive repairs. He put a heat lamp on the pump, put a new bulb in, and in a few hours, our running water returned.

Because we’re celebrating one-third of Isaiah’s life with us (approximately), I went to make a cake. I knew I couldn’t fit the 9x13” pan in the convection oven, but I figured I could mix the ingredients and bring the cake to Bible study to bake. It took a long time. The olive oil was solid at the bottom of its large bottle, so I had to thaw it out to pour it. When I had to chisel the frozen carrots out of their bag one-by-one, I gave up and put the ingredients aside to mix at Bible study.

The children and I drove up to Esmont to get the mail, and a few packages for Isaiah. On the way in, I saw my first cardinal: the Virginia state bird. And on the way back, I saw my second cardinal. Beautiful flashes of red against the dirty snow.

At the post office, substitute mail clerk Sandra mentioned that she was driving in to work today when her driver’s side mirror exploded and scared her half to death. A friend drove by the spot a bit and found a huge dead hawk in the middle of the road. Sandra said she now could be one of those “You know you might be a redneck if” jokes: if a hawk destroys your car mirror while you’re driving to work.

Phil cleared a bit more land; I gathered brush. He uses the handsaw for most of the trees, all those under about 3” in diameter. For the brambles (wild blackberry and raspberry), he can use his scythe, but there aren’t many brambles. The small remainder of the trees he chops with an axe, but that wears him out very quickly.

At eye level in one of the slender trees, I found a bird’s nest. What a beautiful thing to take and gently hold. Leaves on the base, small soft needles on the bottom, and thin twigs curving around. What a lovely round shape: what a delicate dwelling!