I was walking the dog tonight, and around the back corner of our house we have a large conifer tree. Sitting on one of the limbs just above the ground, was a chickadee. She allowed me to get very close to her, and never moved. She seemed to have her head down, and wings slightly outstretched.
As our neighbors are very inconsiderate, they feed the neighborhood stray cats...sometimes. But they have created and fostered a serious cat problem in our neighborhood. They keep that cats fed just enough that they are sickly, and recklessly kill birds for more food. The little chickadee was in serious danger because she was so low to the ground.
I fetched my wife, thinking she was either hurt or had lost a baby or an egg. As I was waiting on my wife, the chickadee seemed to "wake up"...she jumped one limb up...sat there for a while, then flew up higher, but did not fly off.
About an hour or so later I came back out, and again she was sitting on one of the lower limbs next to the ground in the same area...a very dangerous spot for an opportunistic cat. She did not seem to mind my presence...and stayed there a while, then flew off again.
This time I decided to investigate.
A quick parting of the limbs in that area brought a tragic sight. A cat had killed her mate and there lay his bits and pieces under the limb. It was very sad.
A decision was made to bury her mate, it was the least that could be done. I placed two stones over his grave so the cats would hopefully not disturb it. She never returned.
It was about thirty minutes later when it came to me - yes, I think she was in mourning, but I also think she wanted someone to take care of her mate...she did not want to leave him there in such a shape. I hope she has peace this night.
"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father." - Matthew 10:29
No comments:
Post a Comment