I love it when I’m walking and spot a nest in a tree.
It feels like a small discovery, like finding an Easter egg (no pun intended) or a secret door.
From the time I was a little kid, my dad taught me how to look for signs of what’s going on in the natural world, pointing out the high waterline above a dry riverbed, animal tracks in the dirt, cottonwood trees where there’s water, and all kinds of habitats – burrows and holes and nests.
At the Arboretum recently, we saw a man was pointing out a nest in a tree for his grandson.
“You guys should check this one out, too.” I showed them a large nest right in the middle of a cholla cactus that would’ve been hidden from their viewpoint.
I can’t think of a safer place for a home – or a trickier place to build it.
