Huge and sporadic snowflakes speckle the air like static on a soon-outdated analog TV channel. Beyond the static, the twigs and branches from a fallen tree lay scattered on the frozen ground, the casualties on the losing side of last week's battle with the wind. The mockingbird sits still in a bare bush, watching me warily, holding its song until I pass.
Today, the only birds that fly away at my arrival are the doves. Of the several dead tree trunks behind the garden shed which we've left standing for woodpeckers over the past few years, only one has succumbed to the storm. As I pick my way over it, the tree beside me begins to rattle. Am I hearing an echo of the man across the street hammering shingles back onto his children's playhouse? I look up, and a small woodpecker is no more than a meter overhead, finding its lunch under the bark of a tree.
I circle the garden shed and come out by the dormant grapevines. Another several doves rise from the ground, flapping and cooing as they escape a perceived threat (me). But for them, all the birds in the yard seem to have accepted me. It's a nice feeling, to be one of the gang in your own backyard.
I don't expect to ever experience a Snow White-like oneness with nature, with the mockingbird alighting on my head while doves and blue jays feed out of my hand, the red squirrel nibbling on acorns at my feet. What's more, I don't want that. I am a natural predator to these creatures, and I hope that they remain conscious of the fact, just as I am conscious of danger around the natural predators of humans.
More doves explode from the vegetable garden as I pass, and I smile at their wisdom as I rub my frozen hands together and reenter the warmth of the house.
:32°F:
:partly sunny, light flurries:
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Hey Becca - birds can be the most welcoming of all creatures :)
ReplyDeleteand I like your line: "I hope they remain conscious of the fact..." - nice anthropomorphistic writing, hehe - nice posting :)
Mark Anthony
Thanks, Mark Anthony! Funny, I wrote this about 24 hours before I read today's notes on anthropomorphism. I guess all the old-school nature writers will be upset, but I've always maintained that animals have more to them than action-reaction. (:
ReplyDeleteClearly, your relationship with the birds needs to be founded on more than your continual presence. What you need to do, Becca, is to approach them with your hand out and sing. I've seen this repeatedly* with preschool girls when we're out at recess. It's all about the singing.
ReplyDelete*Disclaimer: I have not actually seen this be successful, but the determined natures of the girls involved lead me to believe that they may in fact one day accomplish their goal of getting a bird to land in their palm.