June had her babies on my Dad's birthday! A beautiful present indeed. I keep saying to Hadley and Finn what an honor and privilege it is to have this lovely bird and her family here in our yard. 

In my eyes, June has become part of our family. At least for a little while anyway. I put out some cracker crumbs for her (in addition to the seed in the bird feeder) and Peter said "Honey, she's a bird. She'll figure it out."

I said "Yes, but she's OUR bird." I then made a mental note to pick up sunflower seeds for her tomorrow.

The kids run down to the nest every day and June quickly hops out of her little nest/hole only to perch on a nearby tree and chirp angrily. Sometimes I can hear her from inside and I'll open up the screen door and say "You guys leave June alone! She's mad!!"

Here she is on the nest:

They'll scamper away back to the deck or sandbox, and June's twittering will quiet down after a while. I'd like to think she's starting to trust us or at least get used to us.

I went down tonight to get a good look at the babes after we finished eating outside and I gasped. It's phenomenal. Just a beautiful thing to see. As soon as they sensed something near, all four little beaks cranked open and there they sat, all pink and wiggling, waiting for food, mouths wide open. Peter went back down later to take this:

Tonight my mom mentioned how devoted June was to her four little babies. Doing it all on her own. That endeared me to her even more. According to our research, in about 12 days the babies will come out of the nest. Our dear June has planned this perfectly as we leave for Asheville, NC on the 26th.

My mom arrived on the 14th and it has been so nice. I can't even articulate how nice actually but it brings to mind something I read somewhere. I think it was Ann Patchett's Truth and Beauty (which rules BTW)...

When reunited with loved ones you begin to speak the same language again sort of forgetting that you've been operating in a foreign language since being apart.

Or something like that.

Anyway, I feel fluent again being with my mom. Whole.

Even though I'm sure she's had enough of me sighing dramatically, pointing to my children and saying "You see? You see how busy they are?"

She is drinking them up as is her warm, loving nature.

Finn has renamed her "Gramma" and we have no idea why. She goes by Nana. We call her Nana. Hadley calls her Nana. He's been calling her Gramma. It's hysterical.

We took a picnic lunch to a park near the ocean today and played and played. It was really a beautiful day. Peter got some great shots of my babies, some of which I want to frame immediately.

I am spent and ready for bed. But not too tired to have a quick brownie. As 34 rapidly approaches (cough cough Wednesday cough cough) I am painfully aware of the screeching halting brakes of my metabolism.  Needless to say I'm still wolfing sweet treats like it's my job.