Flight School

The baby birds are getting huge. Friday, they kept thinking about getting up on the railing with mom, but never quite mustered up the bravery to go for it. Athena was playing hard to get. She would just sit there, ignoring them both until they got closer and closer to hopping up there with her. Finally, realizing that they were not quite ready, she jumped down and fed them.

Saturday, however, they were really stretching out those wings.
(Excuse the quality, youTube always destroys my videos.)

I kept waiting and waiting, knowing that their first trip to the rail and back surely meant they would be flying soon. Sometimes they would be almost completely vertical, peering at the world below them. They would stare, shift their weight, and then start shaking uncontrollably. Rinse and repeat. They always ended up back on the railing-- wondering if they could fly or if it was just a cruel joke.

Finally, the moment of truth. Richard yells, "Hira knocked Hiro down!" I run to the window. Hiro is safe. He's staring at us from the tree that towers over our balcony, shaking a bit, but looking quite proud of himself.



Sometimes it just takes a push and a shove to get us going in the right direction. Apparently, that is all Hira and Hiro needed, because when we got home last night - they were gone.