Late yesterday morning, Jackie’s alertness and whimpering announced that Shadow was on his way long before he could be seen on camera flying in from along the lake…
…and as Shadow swooped into the nest, he landed his long-distance, giant curvy stick right on top of Jackie. He seemed so proud of that gorgeous stick that it took him a minute to notice he was standing on Jackie’s back…so, it was almost certainly an accident when he bonked Jackie in the head and walked across her tail as he carried the stick around the nest to find the exact right spot for it.
Rather than risk getting stepped on again, Jackie got up from the nest bowl…and of course, that could not have been part of Shadow’s plan since he kept his focus on fitting that stick into where it belonged. His surprised look when he noticed that Jackie was about to leave obviously showed her his innocence…
…then he quickly moved toward the nest bowl before she might think about changing her mind.
Always keenly aware of each other’s actions, Jackie started announcing that a fish dinner was en route, way before Shadow was even near the nest…and Shadow’s loving connection with Jackie knew exactly how to deliver that fish and bow out of the way so the dinner delivery could best serve to strengthen their continuing closeness.
In the evening, Jackie’s sweet twerpling started even before she landed and almost certainly won Shadow over instantly…so, his small argument when she arrived was probably just sounds rolling out of his beak without meaning to…and to prove that, Shadow stood up right away to let Jackie take over nest-duty. As he left off the front porch, Jackie worked hard to make sure the nest fluff was fully aerated before she settled in for the night...
…but then Shadow returned.
Apparently, he had noticed a gap in the nest sticks and had to quickly bring in one more stick to fill that gap. Of course he had to do this because he would not have been able to sleep until he repaired the nest and not because he was trying to convince Jackie that he needed one more turn before roost time.
Thank you for continuing to watch Jackie and Shadow as they touch our hearts with their ever-growing dedication and bond with each other.
Sandy

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