About a week ago, a beautiful woodpecker appeared along the creek and started drilling in the top of the largest tree above our deck. We were amazed at her persistence. By mid-afternoon the entire front half of our deck was COVERED in tiny wood chips. The next morning wood chips continued to fly as she resumed the relentless pursuit of her goal and completed the precision perfect entrance hole.

The following day, she began gathering twigs from trees and scrubs nearby. Her activity level was intense as she completed the nest. Later that afternoon a huge Hawk appeared on a tree branch behind the woodpecker’s nest. Steve was so concerned about the woodpecker’s safety that he walked down into the wooded area and attempted to chase the hawk away.

The hawk was unafraid as he lazily flew directly over the deck and settled into another tree. So a vigil began when we no longer could see or hear the woodpecker. In the morning, I went out early but there was still no evidence of any activity. A pall fell over our house as we were both almost resigned to the worst case scenario for our woodpecker. But when I checked that afternoon, I saw a sharp bill barely sticking out of the hole in the tree. I ran in the house to get Steve. It was then that joy broke out! We both rushed out and stood quietly looking up. When Steve whistled very softly, the woodpecker’s entire head popped out. She has settled into her job on the nest.

It is amazing how quickly we have learned to care about the woodpecker and how excited we are about the prospect of seeing little woodpeckers hatch. Isn’t it marvelous how life provides us with such rich opportunities to experience and enjoy nature and loving connections?