Greensboro Birds

Yesterday evening, Josh and I helped our neighbors through a difficult event. Their new puppy—the kids’ first pet—had taken ill suddenly on Monday, and unfortunately didn’t make it through Tuesday. While Josh and the boys and their mom worked together on the young pup’s grave, the youngest daughter and I discovered a robin’s nest in a nearby pine. A robin was sitting in it, incubating a clutch of eggs. Earlier in the day Josh and I spotted a fledgling grackle not far from where he and the boys were working, and we found a nest full of cardinal chicks in the woods. But the loss of the dog was a reminder that not all the young that are born in spring will make it.

When everything was ready, we said a few words, planted some flowers on the grave and bordered it with river rock from our creek. The sun was just dropping below the horizon, telling us all it was time to call it a day. When Josh and I got home, tired and, honestly, a little stunned by how quickly it all went down, we were grateful for the company of our (knock on wood) sturdy pets. Next time Happy digs a big hole in the yard, or Tito eats Lucy’s cat food, or Lucy wakes us at 4 a.m. for kibble, maybe we’ll be a little more patient. Of course, that probably won’t apply when the dogs raid the litter box—my well of calm doesn’t run that deep. Anyway, go hug your pets a little extra today in memory of our young friends’ loss.