Nature Can Be So Cruel...

I have a heavy heart. The other day as I walked out to my front porch, there sat a baby sparrow with a broken wing. I noticed not far from him were his parents. Chirpin' at him and coaxin' him to fly. They didn't know what was wrong.

So I sat down and started to talk to him. My first question was "What happened, did you get knocked out of the nest?" Boy how I wish critters could talk.

I was amazed at how unafraid he was. He came within a foot of me, just starin'. My Polish upbringin' kicked in and I immediately felt the need to feed him somethin'. So I brought him out some bird seed and a lil' bowl of water.

He started to eat the seed. He then hopped into the bowl of water and sat in it as he drank. What a precious sight that was.

All afternoon he hopped around the porch, venturin' down a few steps only to come back up to where he felt safe. His parents keepin' a watchful eye on him.

When dusk came, I said goodnight and closed the front door.

The next mornin' I went to let our dogs out and check on my new feathered friend. As I opened the door, there he lay lifeless in the same spot I saw him the evenin' before. His head was gone. My heart sank.

I knew the cat. I have been chasin' him off my property for weeks. I know, I know... "That's what cats do, its nature." That may be true, but as long as I'm on watch, I do my best to keep that from happenin'. He was so innocent, so sweet so vulnerable. I had failed my new lil' friend.

When I went out on the porch later that afternoon, I found a few of his tiny baby feathers. I took them out on our property, opened my hand and watched them blow away in the wind. He was finally able to fly.

Today as I walked around our land, I came upon this delicate and fragile empty bird's nest. It was just laying in the grass. Not a tree or a bush near it. It was so strange. I gently picked it up and smiled. Was it a "sign"? Who knows... But I'd like to think so.
:> )