And the wait continues for the eggs to hatch

This has been a week of patient waiting and watching for that first pip.  Every time a hawk stands up, we anxiously gaze at the eggs... those very white eggs.

Dad gazes too... as if he can hardly believe that nothing has happened yet.

If watching paint dry requires patience, try watching eggs incubate!  Just about the biggest excitement is the changing of the guard...

 ... especially if the tiercel brings his specialty gift of fresh leaves for the nest.

This always accomplishes his desired result of getting the formel to stand up so he can nestle back on his beloved eggs.

But as much as the tiercel loves to take his turn on the eggs, he is like many nervous dads when left alone, restlessly wondering when his mate will return...

... and then dutifully settling back on the eggs when she is nowhere in sight.

Just to change things up a bit, he sometimes brings in a snack - in this case a half-eaten rat for breakfast in bed for mom.

She seemed quite oblivious to this yummy offering right under her beak, and it sat there for several hours yesterday.  So he went back to what he knew would work - fresh greens again - and that did the trick.  She stood up...

... walked right over to that rat, picked it up, tail dangling, and flew off, no doubt to have some me-time over lunch.

.He watched her go...

... then fussed with his leaves, breaking the branch in half, and rearranged the pieces to his liking...

... before settling down on the eggs.

And to keep things interesting, he turned to face the other way.

And so it continues as we inevitably get closer to when the first pip will appear on one of those eggs, and hatching will be underway.

Meanwhile, I'd like to share some wonderful images of the hawks taken from inside the Board Room by Darryl Moran, official photographer for the Franklin Institute.  Darryl took these pictures on March 14 when the first egg was laid.

I just discovered that if you click on any of these blog images, you can see an enlarged version, and even more gorgeous details.

This illustrates why it's impossible from the street below to see a hawk sitting down on the eggs.

You really get a sense of the depth of the nest bowl in these images.