While I was walking in Nags Head Woods the other day, my peripheral vision spotted what initially looked like a perfect circle in the fallen leaves. It took a second for my feet to catch up with my brain, but—after five paces—my legs doubled back so that I could have a look and take the picture below.
If I used some sort of tool to measure the circumference of the nest, I’m guessing it wouldn’t actually be a perfect circle, but it looked pretty symmetrical to my eye. Much better than I could ever craft, even with opposable thumbs.
Of course, I’d previously seen many birds’ nests, but on this particular day something deep inside of me was captured. I just stood there for a few minutes marveling at it, admiring the craftsmanship—or, perhaps, craftsbirdship.
I kept thinking, I could never do that.
Then I thought, That’s because you aren’t a bird.
And I had a laugh.