My eyes filled with tears as I looked back up at where the nest had been, and there sat a huge black bird, just sitting there in defiance while the poor little mama wren tried valiantly to dive bomb him and make him move. She was absolutely frantic. Half his size, she was so brave, so mad and so sad. But it was no use. That big bully just sat there and did this evil thing for no reason other than he was bigger and he could!
I want to tell you, I was so angry I could have killed him. I ran down the stairs and out the front door in my pjs, flailing my arms and calling him several unlady-like names. All I managed to do was to further upset the mama, making her fly to a nearby tree to mourn while that big bully just stared at me like, "You cannot scare me and I ain't movin'!" Ohhhhh, I saw red!
But now for my confession. I pray I am not correct, but if I am, then my heart is not heavy - it's broken. Here's what I did. As you know, the squirrels have been a challenge for me because they break all the bird feeders by swinging on them. Then, a few days ago, I saw two squirrels on our front porch looking for food. So, what did I do? I took a cupful of black sunflower seeds out there and left them in a pile on the porch floor for the squirrels. Now, tell me, is it possible that I also attracted that big black bird to the porch, and when he saw the sweet little wren's nest there, he just destroyed it simply because it was there? I mean, had I not put the seeds on the porch, would the big bird have even discovered the nest? Please, please, I pray I am not responsible for this destruction and murder.
This afternoon, I will go out there and remove the rest of the nest and the four broken eggs, and I will also sweep clean the black sunflower seeds. I bought a real squirrel feeder for out back, and they will just have to eat out of that. I doubt the mama wren will ever trust her nest to be there again after all these years, and I am genuinely saddened by this.
I'll swear, I turn on the TV and see hate and killings and war among humans, and now I see it right on my front porch among my friends, the birds. I wonder, is violence contagious? It's a really tough world out there, and I want less and less to do with it. I think it's one reason I love the farm so much. Up here on the hill, we are just a bit removed from the world. It's sort of like my world within the world, and I like to think it's sweeter up here. But then something like this happens to devastate this little mama bird, and my heart is heavy.
I just don't know how wondrous the view is up here today.
