The circle of life. Instincts. The call of the wild. Nature's way. The food chain. Whatever. I'm battling the force that pits cats against birds.
We have a little evergreen tree on the side of our house. Curt has been begging me to let him chop it down, but I, the resident tree hugger, cannot let him do it. The sweet lady who sold us the house is from Sweden and she told me that it was her first Christmas tree. How sad would it be if she drove by to see it and it was gone?
The tree has had several dead branches for the past few months (more like 7 months) and Curt decided to eliminate those branches last week. Yesterday I was getting out of my car when my eyes began playing tricks on me. I looked at the tree and saw little baby birds opening their beaks as wide as they could go. Surely not! But yes! We had a nest, a momma bird, a daddy bird, and three baby birds in the Christmas tree. They were now a little more exposed than before since the tree has a few less branches. I got as close as I dared, with mom and dad Mockingbird squawking wildly, and watched the precious babies as their heads bobbed up and down in their plea for regurgitated worms. Mockingbirds don't mess around, so I cut my visit short. New moms appreciate that anyway.
I was so excited...until I remembered how many cats we have on our street. My heart sank. The nest was well hidden until we decided to hack away at the branches only hours before the baby birds came out of their shells. I looked at my bedroom window and I could tell Bill had been messing with the blinds in order to get a view of the tree. He was already onto them. I'm not new to cats, Bill. Sorry to break it to you, but there were others before you. I know how your kind works. You like to present things, things that once were alive but have now passed, as gifts to your masters.
What does all this mean for Bill? Well, he absolutely cannot go outside until the birds have left their nest. How will I know? Believe me, I will know! They are making a precious racket. What does this mean for me? I get to deal with an agitated cat who passes the hours scratching at the door and crying. This will go on until I've broken his spirit and he accepts his fate of lounging all day long on the dining room chairs. Bless his heart. Don't feel too sorry for him, though. I found him licking his chops by the window today.
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9 comments:
How funny!...exactly how long does it take a Mocking Bird to fly anyway? Let us know how that whole 'breaking the cat spirit' works out for ya :)) Praying it doesn't flee into the birds you've been working so hard to save! :)
Be sure to tell Bill that, in the words of Atticus Finch, he can hunt all the bluejays he wants, but mockingbirds don't do one thing to hurt people...it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.
You can totally turn this into a heart issue with him. I hear cats really, um, respond to that.
:-)
I feel for ya! Good news is that mockingbirds are pretty aggressive and our resident mockingbird sits on my rooftop chasing, yes I said chasing, the cats who get too close to her or his nest. It was funny the first time we witnessed it- a bird chasing a cat across our front lawn! I hope the same will be true for you!
Please say, "until I break Bill's spirit" again. That is comedy!
It's rough to be Bill, but I bet that Mama bird is writing you a thank you note right now. From one mama to another.
I have such guilty feelings as I feed the birds so my little girl can watch them only to share the view with our barn cats!
So far, so good- they are high enough up not to get pounced on.
Every once in a while I send the dog out to chase the cats away!
If you can't break Bill's spirit, maybe you can mold his will to yours.
Let us know if Bill's will can be broken. I have two cats just waiting and I know they will begin to drive me nuts wanting to get outside. How do they know it's time for baby birdies to be born? Do they understand birdie talk? Of course, we have this momma bird that year after year builds her nest on top of our porch light right in front our cats prying eyes. I try to leave the blind down, but they just know she's there.
You make simple pleasures of life to exciting. Can we inject your writing skills into my veins. I would pay some good money, or at least I would want to.
Our friends from A&M are now missionaries in Peru. they have the funniest bird story. If you'd like a good laugh, here is the link: http://hferguson10.blogspot.com/2007/03/meet-alyosha.html
In Crusade at A&M, my friend Heather and I did blitz together (where you go out and share your faith). Everytime we did, we failed miserably (scaring people to death!), so we just started sharing requests with one another...hee hee!
Enjoy your weekend! It may snow again in your area, if the front coming through here in Colorado goes a bit South.
In His joy,
holly
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