A Robin named Hope

The snow has finally melted from my back yard. We spent the past few months buried beneath a mound that fluctuated between two and four feet deep.

Now, that the white stuff is gone, I’m not thrilled with what was revealed. Forgotten toys, plastic Walmart bags, a stray shoe, and soggy Pokemon cards litter the brown expanse.

 There’s also the stark reminder of how my lawn struggled last year. With malfunctioning sprinklers, half of our yard was denied the required sustenance and our grass baked in the desert sun. Now, brown patches yawn wide, promising a sparse covering at best.

I love our yard. It was one of the selling points when we bought this house. When we moved here, our family consisted of 6 children and one on the way. We needed room for them to run and play, where I could say, after listening to the din created by many small boys, ‘Go outside!’  Our yard has a built in swing set with a slide. We’ve added a play house and a tramp. There is a fence to keep in young bodies who wander, including the two dogs.  I have a small square on one side where I attempt to garden. I manage a few tomatoes and peppers, and weeds, I’m proficient at growing those.

But, the struggles with our grass have discouraged me. I long for a lush, green carpet free of stickers and crab grass. I look on with envy at the lawns of neighbors and wonder if I could pull a Jim Carey type stealing spree. (See video below.)

Robin leaving my yard.

Then, this morning, as I looked out my window, I saw her. One lone robin, with her brilliant red breast, hopped across my yard.  She pecked the ground repeatedly. Go on, I encouraged her, I’m sure you’ll find better fare next door. But, she was persistent. She hopped some more and I sat on my bed, resting my chin on the window sill. I love robins and the promise they bring simply by being.  She pecked some more and then, her little beak gave a hard tug.  She dropped the worm, looked around, perhaps hoping one of her robin friends was watching and admiring her skill.  She picked the slimy thing up and gulped it down.

Then, she was off. Nest building or egg laying surely on her to-do list. I watched her go, then looked back at my yard, which didn’t seem so sad anymore.