The Hollow Nest

These last two weeks have been exceptionally hot for this time of year in Ohio, low-to-mid-nineties, and of course, we always have high humidity, here. But I haven't turned on the air conditioner.

Now, there's a part of me that wishes I could say I didn't use the air conditioner because I am trying to do my part for the environment, and what's a little sweat? But the fact is, I wanted to switch it on. In a 2-story colonial, the whole day's heat collapses upstairs in the bedrooms, making it hard to fall asleep.

The compressor for my air conditioner is located in a 6 x 4 foot cutout near the right rear corner of the house, where I'd planted a burning bush over 20 years ago. It was short and small, then. Now, it's so large that a couple of robins decided to build their nest in it, directly above the compressor, only about 4 feet off the ground.

I'd found the nest accidentally, when planting some green beans and doing some weeding in the garden. The mama and papa birds were yelling at me, flying near and then away, trying to get me to follow them.

I pulled a few weeds around the base of the compressor, and saw them, three baby robins, hunkered down, their beaks the only definitive part that allowed me to count them.

Day after day I checked on them, taking care not to stay more than a few seconds. One day, I saw a round baby in the grass 30 feet from the nest, all fluff and too young to fly. All it could do was hop, but it hopped too fast for me to catch it and put it back in the nest before my appointment.

The next day there were only two birds huddled in the nest.

A few days after that, they were "sitting up." I could see their heads and necks for the first time, and they were looking back at me with their tiny black eyes.

The nest is empty now. I ran the air conditioner overnight, to reduce the humidity from the thunderstorm.

As much as I enjoy the air, I miss those little ones.

Maybe I will remember them in my art.

My name is Rae Hallstrom, and Ameriku is my art and my business and my brand.

Ameriku Ltd produces nature-oriented art prints, posters, greeting cards and other items, based on my original haiku and photography.

Ameriku® is the registered trademark of Ameriku Ltd. When you see the Ameriku trademark, you can be sure the work meets my high standards of quality.