July 9th, 2011: an egg, the nest, a dead tree swallow, and enchanting trees

[ferine]

On the walk back we spotted two eggs on the ground beneath a tree with a damaged nest. The eggs were close to hatching before the chicks died. We figured the recent wind and storms had blown the nest open and the eggs rolled out. One was closed and heavy, and the other was cracked. We brushed aside the ants and peered inside--the chick had been fully formed, perhaps days away from hatching. Not far from there we found the muddied remains of a Tree Swallow, its skull visible:








The following trees drew me in: