A Sunday Drive

On Sunday afternoon, Eric and I meandered over to a neighboring town for an afternoon of exploring (and, for Eric, playing with our new manual-transmission car!) We drove up steep mountains passes, enjoyed spectacular views of the sprawling plains, and took close-up looks at colorful bugs and butterflies.

While stopping for a break at a local inn, however, we stumbled upon the most charming scene of the day. There, nestled under the rafters of an outdoor porch, dozens of barn swallows dove and swooped gracefully around their nesting sites. Each dome-shaped nest was crafted purely from dried mud, with a small hole as the entry-way... and each small hole was crested in a grey puff of fluff. We watched in amazement as four or five miniature yellow beaks popped out of each fluff-ball! Meanwhile, mother birds perched carefully on the nests' edges to feed their little ones before swooping off again into the expansive blue sky.

I don't think I have ever seen so many baby birds at once in my life! (During the handful of minutes we gazed at the birds, upwards of six-dozen babies peeked out at us!) And I later learned that Sunday's sighting was, indeed, a rare treat. Barn swallows only spend twenty to thirty days in the nest before learning to fly away on their own. I felt extremely grateful to have stumbled upon the nests during this special month... when the peaceful porch of a south Texas inn was transformed into a bustling, chattering baby-bird nursery!