Category: birds

Compassionate Critters

I went to Gibson Park today to go for a short walk.  The breeze was blowing constantly, as it always does in Great Falls, but it felt invigorating.  As I walked on the oval path around the park, I heard baby chickadees above me as I passed under a tree, saw several squirrels prancing across the grass, and I heard yellow warblers and an American goldfinch.

First he peeked around the corner at me.
He stood next to me for a few minutes.

Afterward, I took a seat on a bench on one of the docks over the pond and watched the waves ripple across the water and the geese and ducks gently float past.  After a few minutes, I noticed movement in my peripheral vision.  First I saw a tiny head and then the neck and body of a Canadian goose.  It was comical because it was like he was peering around a corner to see if I would notice him.  Even after he realized that I did not have any food, he stood next to me to look out over the pond.  He was so close to me that I could see his brown pupils and the softness of his elongated neck.  Occasionally, he would turn around and peacefully observe me.  I found this to be very comforting because up until I arrived at the park, I was having a difficult day.  I truly believe that animals just get it – they know when we need comfort.  I am not just referring to dogs – this is the reason why they are “man’s best friend.”  I also mean birds, horses, rabbits, and many other furry critters.

Christian had a zebra finch named Kiwi for several years.  Kiwi was a ornery, wild, little fella and Christian would park his wheelchair next to his cage every evening before we covered his cage up with his blanket.  He referred to Kiwi as his best friend because he was always there.  I think that Kiwi waited to die until the year following Christian’s passing because it would have broken his heart.  It was a comfort having Kiwi around after our boy passed away because it gave us a tangible connection to Christian.  A few days before Kiwi passed away, he kept hopping to the front of his cage and he would park right under the door and wait for us to come in and pet him.  It was so strange because Kiwi was always very wild and didn’t want us to get too close to him.  I think it was his way of giving us comfort before he died.

In the months following Christian’s passing, several rabbits hopped onto our back deck and they would sit right in front of the sliding glass door, sometimes looking inside.  A few days before Christian passed away, there were close to 20 Eurasian collared doves on our back sidewalk.  I have experienced a great amount of comfort from God’s critters over the last few years.

At Christian’s graveside service, we released doves.  Our youngest son was able to hold one of the white doves, Sirius, before he released her.  He was then able to open the lid on the basket so the rest of the doves could fly out.  I first read about the doves in a newspaper article about the funeral services of Deputy Joe Dunn, who was killed in the line of duty.  They released doves at his graveside service and he is buried just down the slope from our boy.

God gave us animals for comfort and companionship.  Whether it is a cat, dog, parakeet, or birds at our feeder, if we take notice we will see that they really do care about us.

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Drew holding Sirius a few days after the funeral.

 

Goodbye Old Cottonwood

When I  went to visit Mom last month she asked me, “Did you see out back yet?”  I said no and asked her why.  “They finally cut that tree down,” she stated.

“What tree?” I asked as a feeling of dread began to bloom in my chest.

“The big one in the alley,” she replied, after which I went out the door to the backyard and all I could do was stare into the empty space of sky that was occupied by a massive cottonwood that towered over the houses at the top of the hill.

One of my favorite things about visiting Mom, along with talking with her over coffee of course, was listening the wind rustle the leaves of the cottonwood tree out back.  I would sleep with the window open in the back room so I could wake up to the sound in the morning.  If you do not have cottonwood trees in your area you may be able to find sound bits on YouTube of the wind fluttering the thick, sturdy leaves of the cottonwood tree.

Mom was relieved, along with her neighbors, to not have to clean up the leaves anymore.  Being as hardy as they are, the leaves of a cottonwood do not curl up and fall apart like other leaves in the fall.  They become flexible from moisture but do not disappear as easily as other leaves.  I understand her decision when it came to the mess, but what about the shade it provided?  Many trees still remain in her neighborhood but I did enjoy listening to the chickadees as they hopped from branch to branch overhead.  “Doesn’t the beauty and shade of the tree outweigh the fall mess?”  I thought.

Over the years, many trees have disappeared from our neighborhood.  I do not judge however, because I have no idea how it is to be a senior and having to deal with the mess.  I can be disappointed in the trees being gone, however.  I went out front to sip on my coffee on the front steps and the sun blasted my face with it’s heat.  A massive pine tree next door used to cover that area.  This pine tree was so large and full of birds that my dad called it the “Bird Hotel.”  Sparrows, finches, chickadees, robins, and doves lived there along with a few squirrels.  Our neighbors were kind enough to wait until the fledglings were gone before they had the tree removed.  The tree was gone in less than an hour.  I was furious of course – not at my neighbors but at how short of a period of time something so massive could be destroyed.

We planted three trees in our yard in the summer of 2014.  I am happy to say that they are growing quickly and we have a robin’s nest in one of them.  We are able to enjoy the scent and beauty of the blooms every spring and the birds enjoy perching in them.  With the summers becoming increasingly hotter I wanted to grow some shade for our home and provide a place for my feathered friends.

 

I don’t think we can ever plant too many trees.  They are beautiful to look at and give us a place to sit under on sunny days.  I am not a treehugger but I am thankful for God’s creation and the comfort and joy it provides man and bird alike.