Of all the wildlife around my country home, my big black dog pays most attention to the robins; he bullies them!
And yet, one morning as I sat on my porch drinking coffee, I noticed Mama Robin flying with nesting materials into the close-knit branches of one of my two dwarf apple trees near the driveway turn-around. She was nesting there!
"It can't be," I told myself. Those trees are not much taller than I am, and they're so close to my porch, and in such a busy spot. It's where I work in my flower gardens, where I trim my lawn with a garden tractor; where I exit every time I walk my big black dog, and where I stand to toss the balls and frisbees in his daily games of fetch; where my mail lady often stops with over-sized deliveries; where I water my upside-down hanging tomatoes; and where I often stand and talk with visitors as they are leaving...
I've decided that this means that Mama Robin trusts me. And what a big responsibility that is for me, her neighbor lady.
She knows, and so do I, that I am up to it. She knows I'll keep my dog's big nose away from her nursery.
After all, I've been a Mama too!
