Unhatched

Just before Spring, my husband opened up our chickadee bird house to clean it out from last summer We have learned that we need to do this if we want them to return to nest in the new year.
The same family might nest up to three times in one season and then leave for the winter.
This year when we opened up the house, this was what we found.
6 unhatched eggs.
I hesitate to use the word abandoned, because there is so much human attachment to that word that I do not witness in the wild world of nature.
6 unhatched eggs.
The chickadees left no note as to why these eggs were left
Just a tidy nest, with signs of the places they had foraged to create a comfy home for them and their little ones.
Perhaps the height of our hot summer was too much for them and they needed to go into the mountain forest for cooler weather.
Perhaps they ‘over shot’ as it was their third clutch.
Perhaps there was too much activity in the back yard.
perhaps...perhaps...perhaps
We, of course, can speculate and yet, in all our speculation, we will never know what caused the family to leave when they did. What I do know is that what they left behind offered us a precious gift of discovery.
It is not everyday that one gets to see these precious tiny eggs so closely,
to hold them
study the markings
feel the strength within the fragility
experience the abundance
even in the death

I keep finding that the precious gifts of this life, are often found in death of some kind
It is not easy, but it somehow causes the precious to be even sweeter
These Dark Nights of The Soul offer me a place to cherish the precious little offerings that sprinkle the paths that I find myself walking
kind words
simple connections
rays of light
sprinkles of rain
warmth of the sun
lingering morning frost
smiles on faces
touch
stories
music
good food
good company
moments
breath
life connections

I don’t know what’s ahead and that’s ok
I don’t need to know
I don’t want to know
I do know, that for now,
there is enough light for each step I take
as precious gifts sparkle in the sun
and illuminate under the moon
so here, I remain.