The Beat Goes On

For several weeks, my wife and I were privileged to be up front and close to a pair of Cardinal birds. When you have the number of  backyard bird-feeders that we have, you can expect a plethora of wild birds visiting. Of course my wife's flower beds also attract the feathered-friends.
The male and female Cardinals were daily visitors to one particular feeder just off our sun room patio. We were amused by the attentiveness of the male Cardinal as he would take sunflower seeds, break them in his beak and carefully feed a portion to his female companion; cute to say the least. A few weeks passed and my wife pointed to a small flower pot next to the sun room door where the Cardinals had made a nest. I emphasize, it was a small pot. Few days later, we noticed three eggs were in the bottom of the nest. Over the next few weeks, we would watch from a kitchen window, which was perhaps five feet from the nest. The mother Cardinal tended to her incubation duty and periodically, the male daddy-to-be bird would bring her a snack.
It appeared to my wife that the mother was having difficulty getting 'down' on the small pot nest, so she addressed the issue one day when the mother was away and put additional lifting materials under the nest and eggs. It seemed to please the bird upon her return.
After the hatching of three chicks, we watched the feeding and protective methods. We watched both birds assume feeding duties and woe betide if a foreign bird approached the nest!
Finally, the day arrived. We looked out our window to see a young slightly feathered bird teetering on the edge of the pot trying to figure out the next move. Within hours the nest was empty. We had observed a courtship romance, lovers attentive concerns, fierce protection and worry about young off springs...Hum,  I've seen that story elsewhere.