Hello and welcome.
In tonight's sleep story,
We will be following a robin through her day.
Exploring the air A backyard.
And a neighborhood park.
Before we begin,
I invite you to close your eyes.
Notice the surface beneath you,
Supporting your body.
Is there anything you need to adjust to feel more comfortable?
More at ease.
If so,
Take a few moments to do so now.
Once you are comfortable.
Bring your attention to your breath.
You don't need to change anything.
Just notice.
The pace of your breath.
Feel fast.
Or does it feel slow?
Does your breath originate from your chest?
Or from your belly.
After a few breaths of noticing.
You might try breathing out a little longer than you breathe in.
Make both your inhale and your exhale soft,
Slow,
And gentle.
With every exhale.
Feel your body sink a little deeper into the surface below you.
Feel any tension melt from your forehead,
Your cheeks,
And your jaw.
Allow your shoulders to fall away from your ears,
Sinking back and down.
Soften your arms.
Your hands.
Your thighs.
Calves.
.
.
And your feet.
Maybe your body feels heavier now.
And with each exhale.
You relax more deeply.
In this relaxed state,
You might start to imagine the peaceful setting of our story.
We're in a serene backyard garden.
It's late spring The grass is green and the plants are starting to flower.
Do you feel the fresh,
Crisp air on your skin?
Maybe you smell the light scent of flowers or freshly cut grass.
Can you hear the soothing song of birds in the trees?
We first meet our robin friend in her nest,
Just as the first hints of daylight begin to lighten the horizon.
Slowly,
She untucks her beak from her wing and blinks both eyes open to greet the day.
The sky has turned from inky black to soft blue-gray.
And the shapes around her are coming into focus.
She can see the branch that supports her nest extending outward from the maple tree that is her summer home.
Behind her,
The tree trunk is thick and sturdy,
Its grey-brown bark shaggy with age.
Small patches of blue and green lichens add texture and color to this sheltered place.
The leaves of the tree are still.
There is no breeze to rustle their pointed edges at this hour.
There was rain yesterday,
And there is a lingering dampness in the cool morning air.
Today promises to be clear,
Sunny and pleasantly warm.
Robin can hear her neighbors and nearby trees beginning to stir as well.
And a few have already begun to sing their morning greetings.
Robins,
Chickadees,
Blackbirds,
And wrens can all be heard this time of morning,
Peeping,
Tweeting,
And warbling together.
She gives her head,
Her wings,
And her tail a quick shake,
Fluffing her feathers,
And then she joins the dawn chorus song.
A few branches above,
She can hear her mate chirping his tune.
They have been working together on the nest for a couple of days,
And it is just about finished.
Foraged sticks,
Mud,
And grasses have come together to form a small cup where she now sits.
It is sturdy,
Comfortable,
And easy to rest in.
Once it is completed.
This is where they will care for their young.
With a few more tweets,
She wraps up her morning melody just as the golden sun peaks over the horizon.
The brightening sky has turned pinkish-orange,
And the few puffy clouds drifting lazily across the sky are glowing.
Some of her neighbors are still singing their greetings to the day,
And others have already left their roosts in search of food.
Robin takes a big stretch,
Shakes her body again,
And then raises her foot to her head for a scratch.
It's time to clean up.
Preening her feathers takes a significant amount of time,
But it's not just for looks.
Keeping them clean and orderly helps her stay warm,
Dry,
And safe in the air.
This is why she does a thorough check before taking her first flight of the day.
She runs her beak down a feather that needs her attention,
Nibbling as she goes,
And then shakes to settle it back into place.
She moves on to the next feather,
And then the next.
Giving herself the care that she needs.
The sky is getting less pink and more blue now,
And it's time for breakfast.
Robin eases her way to the edge of the nest and hops over it to perch on the branch beneath.
She can see a few of her neighbors in the lawn.
They seem to have found a bountiful patch of breakfast.
One more shake and she's off.
She jumps from the branch,
Spreads her wings,
And flaps a few times.
Down to the ground she glides.
She lands gently near the bird feeder.
The ground is firm and the grass is damp with dew.
There are some small puddles from yesterday's rain.
The yard that houses her maple tree is also home to a small vegetable garden and a birdbath.
These are all a short flight from her nest.
And a little further away is the human's house.
She can see a light on in the kitchen.
The humans are looking for breakfast too.
Robin turns her attention to the ground.
It is littered with seeds,
Insects,
Nuts,
And dried fruit,
All gifts left by the humans in the house.
She cocks her head to one side,
Looking and listening intently as she scratches at the earth.
Soon she finds one of her favorite berries covered slightly by the grass.
She picks it up in her beak and gulps it down.
It's a good start to her breakfast.
She hops a couple of feet to the right and repeats the process,
Tilting her head,
Looking and listening carefully as she scratches,
And then catching sight of a delicious morsel.
Soon,
Robin's belly is full.
She's covered a lot of ground already,
Hopping from bite to bite,
And she's close to the birdbath now.
The shadow cast by her maple tree is getting shorter and shorter as the brightly shining sun rises in the sky.
Most of the dew is gone now,
And the rain puddles are slowly beginning to shrink,
Evaporating into the warming air.
The birdbath has been sitting in the sun for a while now and it's no longer cold.
Robin hops and flaps her wings a few times,
Landing at the edge of the bath.
The water in its bowl is clear and sparkling in the sunshine.
She takes another hop,
This time into the middle of the bath.
Splashing and flapping in the water,
She washes off the dirt and grime from her morning forage.
After a minute,
She hops out of the water,
Back to the side of the bath,
And shakes thoroughly.
She flaps her wings a few more times to remove the last drops of water from her feathers.
And then she takes a look around the yard.
Robin sees a bunny munching on clover near the woods at the back of the yard,
Its nose twitching with every bite.
A pair of squirrels run up one of the trees along a sturdy branch and then leap into the next tree over,
One right after the other.
A group of finches,
Chickadees,
And blue jays are taking turns at the bird feeder now.
She hears the garage door open,
The chatter of the humans,
And a minute later,
She hears the door shut again.
They're out for a drive,
Enjoying the beautiful day.
Robin takes off from the birdbath and flaps upward into the air.
Soon,
She is soaring above the neighborhood.
She can see the yard where she lives with its trees,
Garden,
Birdbath,
And feeder.
She can see many other yards and human houses from here.
Some of them have gardens too,
Where other bees and bunnies and robins spend time.
Many of the yards have bird feeders as well.
The finches,
Chickadees,
Blue jays,
And wrens all know which ones have their favorite seeds Hummingbirds have found the homes with their special feeders and they zoom about,
Lapping up sweet nectar.
Cars come and go lazily down the street.
A group of children on bikes roll leisurely along the sidewalk.
There are people sitting out in the gardens on their porches.
Dogs on leashes stroll with their humans toward the neighborhood park.
Robin heads toward the park as well.
It's not far,
Just a few streets away from her backyard home.
She passes cars,
Homes,
Yards,
Gardens,
And bird feeders as she flies toward the large green patch of ground.
At the park,
There are lots of people enjoying the beautiful day.
They walk,
Jog,
Or bike along the paths.
Some have brought blankets to sit on in the grass and baskets of food.
One group is playing a game,
Kicking a ball between them and laughing.
Dogs sniff in the grass and children climb on the playground.
One of the paths in the park circles around a small lake,
And Robin follows this one.
There is a thin line of trees on both sides of the path.
One between the path and the lake,
And the other one lining the other side of the path.
They provide shade for the people moving about the lake.
They also make nice homes for the many birds,
Squirrels,
And insects that live at the park.
There are birds here that she doesn't see in her own yard.
Red-winged blackbirds sing from the rushes at the edges of the lake.
Pairs of ducks paddle in the shallows,
Taking turns going bottoms up in search of food.
V's of geese honk as they come in for a splashy landing in the middle of the water.
Robin even spots a pair of swans gliding along the far edge of the lake.
She also hears the croaking of frogs who hide in the cattails and the mud.
Every once in a while,
The fish jumps out of the water and lands with a splash.
Dragonflies skim the water as they fly.
Robin continues her flight around the lake and soon she is gliding over the beach.
Although the sun is shining brightly,
It's not warm enough yet for swimmers.
Even still,
A few young people are waiting in the water up to their knees.
A couple of children are drawing letters and shapes in the sand as their family looks on.
Soon the beach will be filled with brightly colored towels and umbrellas,
And the smell of charcoal grills will waft through the air.
The seagulls will show up then,
Scavenging for the humans' leftovers.
Robin has nearly completed her loop around the lake now,
And she decides to take a break in the shade.
She spies an empty branch that hangs over the walkway and lands there.
From her perch,
She has an enjoyable view of the people passing below,
And she preens her feathers as she watches them go by.
First,
She sees a couple walking arm in arm,
Smiling and laughing together.
Their grey hair,
Comfortable manner and easy conversation tell her that they've been on this walk before,
And it's nice to see that they still enjoy it.
Next,
Robin sees a woman walking a large white dog with a pink collar.
The dog keeps stopping to sniff unknown smells in the grass,
And the woman patiently waits for the dog to be ready to move on.
Their walk is full of stops and starts,
Investigative sniffs and wonder.
A woman smiles to herself each time a new scent pauses their progress.
Shortly after the woman and the dog pass by,
A group of children riding bikes comes into view.
Robin recognizes them as the group she had seen rolling through her neighborhood a short while ago.
They pedal along casually,
Chatting as they ride.
A couple of them have kites tucked into their bike baskets,
And they seem to be headed for the most open part of the park.
Not too far behind the biking children comes a man jogging with a stroller.
Robin is just able to make out a small sleeping bundle nestled in the stroller as they pass.
The little one looks very cozy.
This reminds her of her own nest,
Which needs some finishing touches before she lays her eggs.
Robin finishes preening one last feather,
Gives a quick shake,
And hops off the branch.
She flaps her wings and soon she's gliding back toward home.
The wind creates a soft whoosh in her ears as she soars.
Air streams under her outstretched wings and holds her aloft.
She passes over the green grass of the park,
The streets and cars,
The rows of houses,
The many gardens,
And the small creatures within them as she makes her way back to her maple tree.
Robin lands softly on a small branch above the one that holds her nest.
The branch that she lands on bounces slightly under her weight,
Rustling the leaves.
As she hops along,
Closer to her nest,
The leaves shake gently again.
From the tree next door,
She hears the call of her mate,
Letting her know that he is close by.
She tweets back and soon,
With a flurry of feathers and a rustle of leaves,
He lands next to her.
Together they hop down to the nest for a closer inspection.
The structure of the nest has come together well and it feels sturdy and secure.
One side of the nest will just need a couple more sticks.
Robin's partner is off with a flap and he lands in the shade below their tree.
She can see him scratching through the grass and the dirt,
Searching for the perfect twig.
While he does,
She gets to work fluffing the grasses that line the bottom of the nest.
There has been enough padding for her to sleep comfortably,
But they will add a bit more before she lays her eggs to ensure that they have enough cushion.
Soon her mate is back with a couple of twigs in his beak.
She takes one and he leaves the other in the nest and takes off again back to the ground to find more building material.
Robin tucks the first twig neatly into place and then grabs the second.
She tucks this one in as well,
But isn't quite satisfied with its placement,
And she pulls the twig back out.
She takes another look and finds a different spot along the edge of the nest where the twig fits in neatly.
By then,
Her mate is back with more sticks.
Again he drops these off with her and then he's off for more supplies.
They repeat this process a few more times,
Robin placing the sticks that her mate brings,
And soon,
The structure of the nest is complete.
There are just a couple more steps to finish.
Both Robin and her mate leave the nest this time.
He goes in search of grasses to line the cup of the nest,
And she heads to a wet patch of ground to gather mud for reinforcing the walls of the nest.
She finds the right consistency of mud,
Scoops up a beakful,
And heads back to the nest.
She places the mud in the gaps between two twigs and pats it into place with her wings.
Just as she finishes with the first batch of mud,
Her mate arrives with a beak full of grass to pad the nest.
Back to the ground she goes,
Gathering another scoop of mud,
And then back to the nest to pat it into place.
She repeats the process several more times,
As does her mate,
And finally the nest is finished.
Robin spins around inside of the nest a few times,
Surveying their work.
She fluffs her feathers,
Gives a satisfied shake,
And hops to the edge of the nest.
In a few days,
She will start laying eggs,
But finishing the nest has been enough work for today.
It's time for a snack.
Robin turns her attention to the garden,
And with a hop and a flap,
She takes off in its direction.
She lands in the grass at the edge of the garden.
The grass is a little longer here and it tickles her legs and her belly as she hops toward the dirt.
One more hop and her feet sink into the soft earth.
The garden is rich with activity.
Vegetable seedlings are busy sending down roots as their first tender leaves rise from the soil.
Bumblebees buzz overhead,
Making their way from wildflower to wildflower.
Several of them check the garden looking for the first signs of flowers on the growing peas and beans.
The bees heading back to their hive carry legs full of orange pollen.
Shiny red and black ladybugs crawl through the dirt,
Over green shoots,
And up the tallest of grasses.
This time of year,
The garden is one of Robin's favorite places to find a snack.
She scratches in the dirt and quickly finds a tasty morsel.
She takes a couple of hops to her left and finds another.
This garden is bountiful.
It provides food for Robin and food for the bugs and the grubs that she eats.
The flowers on the plants provide pollen and nectar for the bees and the butterflies.
The grasses near the garden provide food for the bunnies and the growing plants will offer them shelter.
The late summer and in the fall it will provide food for the humans who planted it.
It is late afternoon now and the sun is getting quite warm.
It's time for a rest.
Robin gulps down one last snack,
And then,
With a hop and a flap,
She takes off.
She lands back at the birdbath for a quick splash after digging in the garden.
She hops in and out of the water a few times,
Splashing in the bath and then shaking off the droplets.
At the edge of the bath,
She takes a few minutes to preen a couple of her more unruly feathers.
She'll do a more thorough job when she returns to her nest.
With one more shake.
She takes off.
On her way back to the nest,
She takes a short lap around the yard,
Surveying the garden,
The bird feeder,
And the other trees at the edge of the yard.
The bees are still hard at work gathering nectar and pollen.
A few butterflies drift around the garden doing the same.
There are no rabbits or squirrels in sight at this time of day.
They have found cool patches of shade to rest in.
There are only a few birds flitting around the feeder and the bath.
It's quieter in the yard in the heat of the day.
Robin lands back at the nest,
Hops into its cup,
And settles down into the soft grasses at the bottom.
After several minutes of preening,
She tucks her beak backward into her wing and shuts her eyes.
When she opens them again,
The sun is quite a bit lower and the evening shadows are starting to lengthen.
She sits up a little taller,
Shakes her feathers,
And hops to the edge of the nest.
It's time for dinner.
Robin leaves her nest and coasts down to the ground near the base of the tree.
The dirt is cool on her feet as she scratches,
Looking for food.
It's a clear,
Cool evening with just a light breeze.
The grass rustles lightly,
As do the leaves overhead.
The frogs have started to croak their evening song,
And there are many birds singing as well.
There is a brief hum of activity now before the sun sets.
Robin takes a break from her meal to look around.
There are many birds at the feeder.
As soon as one flies away with its beak full of food,
Another bird lands.
She catches a glimpse of her mate as he flies away from the feeder back to the trees.
Soon she will lay an egg a day until her clutch is complete.
Her main focus during these coming days will be filling her belly so she is well prepared for the long process of incubation.
Once she starts incubating her eggs,
She won't leave the nest much at all for a couple of weeks,
So her mate will support her by bringing her food.
Even so,
It will be important to eat as much as she can over the next few days.
She has found a reliable patch of worms,
Grubs,
And other insects,
And her dinner has been very satisfying.
The sun has started to set now.
Robin shakes a few flecks of dirt from her belly and with a flap,
Flap,
Flap,
She soars upward.
The air is still and it feels cooler now.
She lands at the top of her tree where she has a view of the sunset.
She watches as the sky slowly changes from vibrant orange and pink to a deep blue-gray.
The few clouds drifting by are tinged with violet.
Robin surveys the yard.
The bees and the butterflies have finished their work for the day.
Her bunny neighbor is near the garden,
Quietly munching on blades of grass.
The squirrels have stopped chattering and are curled up in their holes.
She can see lights in the human's house blink off one by one.
It has been a full,
Satisfying day for Robin.
She takes one last look around from her perch at the top of the tree.
And then she hops down,
Navigating the maze of branches until she reaches her nest.
She hops over the side and settles into its cup.
The new grass is soft and supportive.
Robin is ready for sleep.
She closes her eyes.
Her breathing slows a bit.
And gradually the noises around her fade as she drifts off to sleep.
