It has been such a lovely summer. We’ve had so many different types of birds choose our garden in which to build their nests this year. The last baby finch in the nest on our patio tested his wings and flew over our heads just last week while Larry and I were having breakfast. I always feel a little sad once all the babies are gone. I miss their insistent chirps for food and watching the conscientious parents flitter back and forth during feeding time.

I wanted to commemorate the last of the finches somehow and remembered that Larry had given me an abandoned nest he found last spring while pruning our camellia trees. It didn’t take long for me to find it in the infamous art closet. So here I present my photographic love letter to all of the sweet birds who found our little garden to be the perfect place to start their families.