a bird in hand..is worth two from my backyard.

well i decided to write a bit about WHY and HOW i have come to love nests so much.
when i was little i dreampt of finding a baby bird that needed my help, that i could feed and take care of and would sleep on my pillow~ and wake me with chirps. (you know the mind of a 7-10 year old is mysterious and vast!) i was always thinking about it and on the look out for any baby birds that had fallen from the nest.
then when i got a bit older i started finding abandoned nests in the woods lined with clay and lichen. i was fascinated. fascinated to learn that the birds collected all types of goodies for the nests. i started leaving out bits of string and yarn. (think friendship bracelets and those woven pot holders!) and to my ultimate happiness i would find bits of those treasures lining the next nest.
but my most favored and cherished story is of my dear friend jean (think beatrix potter meets an avid gardener in straw sun bonnet).
when jean and i were talking of our love of nests one afternoon and she relayed this story:
while walking among her gardens and peering in to nests she was often delighted to discover~
that the birds had lined there nests with strands of her silvery hair.
just think, how gentle and delicate the beak that collects the single strands of silvery locks to line it's nest. think of the care.
this years nest are dedicated to jean and to those fanciful birds who knew without a doubt that they had found the ultimate treasure ~ a sliver or two of true silver for sprucing up the nest.
wow.