Pre-Ramble: Well, if you’re a huge bird fan like I am, you’re going to be miffed that you missed the latest offering of John James Audubon’s “Birds of America,” the original edition of which was sold at auction yesterday in London for $11.5 million.

The capacity crowd at Sotheby’s was all aflutter as bids flew in from all corners of the room. It took just four minutes for the numbers to climb beyond the $6-7 million amount that was initially estimated for the sale, and the gavel to fall on Lot 50. The four volume set, featuring 435 illustrations of birds drawn between 1827 and 1838, was sold to Michael Tollemache, a London fine art dealer and presumed ornithology buff. The birds are drawn to actual size. The books, when opened, have a wing span of nearly 4 feet across.

So, ok – we’ve won the golden goose … We fork over $11.5 million … Do they wrap ‘em up and put ‘em in a bag?  And, once home, where do we put the $11.5 million books?  Large hardcover volumes like these are usually classified as “coffee table books.”   I don’t know about you, but the books on our coffee table pretty much double as coasters … or placemats on a good TV night. I’m guessing this practice would ruffle a few feathers at Mr. Tollemache’s house.

The Take-Away:  Good for you, Mr. Tollemache! I totally get it. My grandparents were both avid birdwatchers and life-long members of the Audubon Society. They had a bucket stocked with binoculars, field guides, small spiral-bound notebooks and a bunch of pencil nubs wedged between them on the front seat of the Impala at all times, lest they should happen upon an impromptu bird watching scenario. They also had several sets of LP’s that featured nothing but random bird calls. In the summertime, between the humidity and the soundtrack, their house felt like a Rainforest.

Post Note: Let’s not tell Mr. Tollemache, but a collector’s edition of the Audubon “Birds of America” (in hardcover) is available on Amazon for $116.55 — on sale from $185 — you save: $68.45 (37%) … Ships within 10-11 days … there’s gift wrap.

Pre-Ramble: Lots of flapping and preening in the nest today as the Chiplets pull downy fuzz out of their coat by the beak-full to make way for the more streamlined, aerodynamic feathers below. Little did I know, as I watched the activity, that these fledgling feathered wings would be soon called to action.

So, earlier in the week, I had witnessed Mother Chipping Sparrow swoop onto the scene with a fresh, plump, bright green caterpillar dangling from her beak. From what I could see from my viewing bunker, she had chopped it up and distributed it evenly among the clamoring kids. Smart bird. We moms have all had to contend with the sibling rivalry ruckus that comes from the inevitable inequity of food portions … “No fair! Her piece of caterpillar is bigger than mine … ” blah, blah …

Since then, I have come across these bright green caterpillars everywhere…  I’m walking the dog — there’s a caterpillar… I’m on a run – there’s a caterpillar… I’m out in the garden — there’s a caterpillar. And, rather than pass up a perfectly good caterpillar, I’ve been coaxing them onto sticks and dragging them up onto the porch. (I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t mention this to anyone; the fact that I’ve set up orange traffic cones across the nesting zone to minimize disruption has generated more than enough snickering among my heartless, unsentimental family and friends.) 

I thought about delivering the caterpillar hot dish directly into the little outstretched beaks, but then thought the better of it. Would I want a complete stranger walking up to the crib and shoving food into my baby’s mouth? Something they had picked up off the street, no less? And what is the shelf life on these insects? I’d hate to be giving the Chiplets an expired caterpillar. So, I’d carefully lay the bugs-on-a-stick on the porch near the nest and slink away. They were always gone the next time I looked out there.

We knew it was going to happen.  Just after the above photo was taken (if you look closely, you can make out three little bird faces … one is looking right at you). (And, yes, there were four eggs in the nest … I don’t know what happened to the fourth bird, and I don’t want to talk about it.) As I made my way back inside, a frenzy of chirping broke out, and before I could turn to see what the commotion was all about, the nest was empty.

That’s the way it’s supposed to be. We’ve known since day one, that sooner or later the little birds were going to be ready to take that leap of faith, or predestination, or whatever it is that makes a creature fling itself beak-first into the future. Any other outcome would have been sad, tragic even. So, why is there still such an empty place where the energy around the nest used to be?

I’m sure the fact that our oldest child has gone to college and the youngest one is poised on the edge of our proverbial nest has something to do with it. It somehow doesn’t seem fair that in raising a child, the outcome that you hope for, that you work a significant part of your life for, exposes you to a deeply complex range of emotions, each of which resonates with a twang somewhere in your heart. It’s like suffering a loss and receiving a great gift all at once.

The Take-Away: Enjoy the moment and take things as they come. Just when you think things are the way they are, new things happen — bird nests pop up in bushes, kids move on to the next exciting phase of their lives, a twist of circumstances presents opportunities to try new things in the world. Seems like our best bet is to experience the things that come our way to the fullest extent of our interest, and be ready to move into whatever comes next. 

Sure, the Chiplets are gone. It’ll be an adjustment… (…what will I do with all that extra time?)  The good news is we can use the front door again, and I can finally sweep up all those dead pine needles and restock the Christmas planters. My hope is that the young birds will learn to find the bright green caterpillars on their own, perfect their flying skills, and send me a Tweet once in a while.

Pre-Ramble:  In an effort to keep the baby-birds-in-nest habitat near the front door of our house as tranquil as possible, I’ve taken to re-routing all nonessential traffic to one of our alternate entrance/exit sites — much to the consternation of my girls, (who are perfectly happy to run around the neighborhood with their peeps for hours on end, but ask them to take ten extra steps to the back door and their tail-feathers get all bent out of joint.)

Also, to minimize disruption, I’ve cut back on the number of times I check on the nest to just 50 times a day. Still, each time I think I’m sneaking up on the foyer window as my stealthiest self, I’ll focus in on the nest only to find Mother Chipping Sparrow looking directly at me with her death glare, all, “Seriously? … You’re looking out here again?” 

In spite of the suboptimal accommodations, the Chiplets seem to be doing just great. Mom and Dad have been fetching take-out – bugs mainly — and all four chicks are looking discernibly fuzzier.

The other big buzz today centers on the 82nd Scripps National Spelling Bee which moves into the nationally televised semifinals in Washington D.C.  If you haven’t seen the award-winning film, Spellbound, you have no idea just how … well, spellbinding, the National Spelling Bee can be.

… one of the highest-rated specials on ESPN (a sports channel), … a nail-biting face-off among hundreds of teens who train as rigorously as any Olympic athlete on their heroic quest for glory.

A few fun facts about the bee:

• The National Spelling Bee was begun in 1925 where nine students participated in the event
• The program, which hosts a record 293 spellers, is open to students attending public, private, parochial, charter and home schools
• Participants range in age from 9 to 15 years of age; most of the kids are either 13 or 14 years old
• English is not the first language of 33 of this year’s spellers, and 117 of them speak languages other than English
• According to the Bee’s official website, the spellers’ favorite words include Weissnichtwo and humuhumunukunukuapuaa (my spell check just shorted out)
• Most bees are fuzzy and carry an electrostatic charge which aids in the adherence of pollen. (You didn’t think I would get through this post without some stupid reference to honey bees, did you?) 

The Take-Away: I think we can all agree that we are more than thankful that we are not in front of a microphone trying to sound out the word “ameliorate” …   And just to drive that point home, here is a spelling tip from the official spelling bee primer:

One of the hardest tings to remember about werds from Latin is weather an internal consonant (like rr in interrupt) is doubled. To reinforce your memery of the correct spelling, try to remmember related werds all together (like interrupt along wit interrupshun or necessary along with necesscity).

Pre-Ramble:  At the risk of sounding like Dr. Seuss on a backyard nature hunt, I was all ready to call out the fact that yesterday, our little bird nest had gained a third egg. ! 

That’s right — every day for the past three days, Mother Chipping Sparrow has added another tiny blue egg to the brood. I am just fascinated by this nest … I must check on it fifty times a day. My husband isn’t nearly as taken with the whole thing. Basically, he just rolls his eyes and says something dismissive and passive-aggressive like, “Great.” 

So, then I got to thinking — really — do your readers care about some bird laying eggs on a front porch in suburban Minnesota?  Where’s the witty commentary on the important issues of the day?  The keen observations on innovation, creativity, and human behavior?  Where are the uplifting stories? The wise-cracks about celebrities and political figures?  Advice for the President’s dog?  … So, I figured a couple days of this birdy-cam news is all anyone really needs…

UNTIL TODAY!!  

This morning, plain as day, right there in the bottom of the nest, was A FOURTH EGG!!! 

Try as I might, Mother-B (shown above — not actual size) returned to the nest before I was able to scramble for the camera. I haven’t been able to catch her in an on-leave moment ever since.

Four eggs in four days … this Quatro-chick is really delivering!  The bird book said 3-5 eggs per brood was the range … and here we are at egg number four! Will there be a fifth tomorrow?  Will she exceed the national averages and go for egg number six?? This is almost more exciting than the American Idol finale! (Ok, maybe not.) (And my husband rolls his eyes about that too.)

The Take-Away:  Sometimes, you just need a break from all the gloom and doom …, the tabloid drama …, and take a look at the stuff going on in your own backyard.  Sure, the market might be down and gas prices might be up, but, hey – we’ve got four eggs in the nest!!

Pre-Ramble: The other day, much to my surprise, I spotted a tiny bird’s nest in one of the potted “trees” next to our front door. There was no bird in it, and no real signs of activity. I’ve been keeping an eye on the nest, hoping that the tidy, intricately woven little structure hadn’t been abandoned before it had had a chance to host a little bird family.

This nest was remarkable for several reasons:

1. just big enough to hold a golf ball, the architectural symmetry and detail of the nest was a wonder to behold;
2. as I looked closer, I realized that, mixed in with the blades of grass and twigs, the inside of the nest was lined with hundreds of strands of Daisy’s white dog hair. (Amazing, both in terms of the dexterity required to pick up a single stalk of dog hair in one’s beak, and in the incredibly putsy and undoubtedly time-consuming process of weaving all of that stuff into something livable.)
3. of all the luxurious, secluded locations available on our 2 acres of heavily wooded lot, Mother Bird picked a dried out tree topper (hastily jammed into containers last Christmas) that flanks the front doorway of our house — one of the highest trafficked areas possible, and right at Daisy’s nose level.

Well, so, this morning, after several days of the empty nest, just when I had nearly given up hope, I heard an unusual chirping coming from the front of the house. I won’t admit that I dashed over to see if the noise could be coming from the nest, and sure enough, a bird was now scrunched into the perfectly round little space… !

Immediately, I texted my girls with the good news; who, I assure you, are sitting at school right now going, “My mother is a nut-case.”

But wait — it gets better … (I know, you can barely stand it) … When I looked out the front window a few minutes later, the bird was gone, and cradled in the bottom of the nest was a single tiny blue egg… !

Yep — another text to the girls — and a photo (above right).

The Take-Away:  With spring break already a distant memory and grad parties in the air, many folks are lamenting/celebrating the fact that their youngest child will be headed off to college. I am happy to report that we’re not empty-nesters yet!