Hang in there little ones...

There are babies in the rhododendron bush outside my front window.

Baby robins of course (did you think there were human babies in the bush outside my house?)

And I am obsessed. And worried. They hatched today and I CRIED - because it is really cold here, we're in the middle of a 2 day cold snap - went down to 34 last night and will be 38 tonight. I have been watching this nest and mama robin for over a week now (when I first saw the nest and the tiny blue eggs inside of it!!!) and I thought they'd hatch this weekend but nope - they must have been there for a few days before I discoved them. I saw mama with her beak in the nest today and thought she was just moving the eggs around but when she left I saw a tiny sliver of very still pink ... so got a chair and climbed up and stuck my head out of the top of my front window so I could peer down into the bush and into nest - and saw 2 very small pink embryo type little birdie babies - and they looked so still my heart stopped - but then they squirmed a bit.

Called J sobbing though, sure they were going to die and so worried because it stayed very cool today.

He called our state Wildlife Center and they told him that when she is sitting in the nest - underneath her it's 106 degrees!!! That made me feel better - and I did see her feeding them a couple times today with little necks craned up to eat so they do appear to be alive. There also appeared to still be at least one egg when I looked earlier today so another may have hatched, we may be up to 3 .. not sure.

Wildlife Center also said you just have to let nature take its course, let mama do her thing, sometimes first broods of the season don't make it, but if she's there and sitting on them and feeding them - they have a good shot - and she is - so I'm hoping and trying not to obsess over them.

Oh - and this was awful - a strange orange CAT was in my driveway today and then walked up my front stairs TOWARD THE RHODODENDRON - I know he sensed them and prob smelled them too - I opened the door and chased him away but now that's another worry - her nest isn't high enough up. It's a very large rhododendron but still, not as high as a tree. Ugh!!! Nothing I can do though. Except hope for the best.

Send some T & P to my robin mama and her babies! I know I'm crazy! But I want them to make it. I've adopted them.