Hazards of leaving the patio door open

When I work from home, my desk is in the loft and behind me is a bedroom containing a sewing machine and a love seat that the dogs lay on to look out the window. 

I heard a scrabbling at the bedroom window.  

Since I could see Bogie laying down, I assumed Angel was clawing at the glass.  She used to do that when she saw a dog walking on the sidewalk in front of the house.  But she hasn't done it in a while. 

I got up and entered the bedroom, intending to scold Angel.  She wasn't there. Instead, there was a small red house finch fluttering at the window. 

I carefully crossed the room to get to the window.  I didn't want to startle it.  I've chased a sparrow through the house for an hour in the past.  (Yes, I know.  I never learn.)

I started to slide the glass window open and planned to remove the screen to shoo the finch outside.  But when I moved the window, the finch didn't try to escape. Instead, it just moved a little closer to the corner of the window sill. 

I wondered, Maybe I could rescue it without removing the screen.  I moved carefully toward it, with my hands cupped and scooped it up from above.

It didn't even try to escape.  

I could feel the tiny heart beating double-time in its chest, but it didn't struggle. I worried that I had its wings in an awkward position, but didn't want to risk re-positioning it.  

The tiny little finch made no noise. That meant we could walk past Bogie without drawing his attention to my hands.  As always, Bogie followed me out to the patio, but never realized I was carrying a living creature. 

I went to set the finch on the patio table, figuring it would need a moment to gather its wits.  But as soon as I opened my hands it flew away.  

Probably to tell its little birdie buddies how he braved the giant’s house and survived. 

Sometimes the cycle of life sucks

I love my yard.  There is a patch of grass for the dogs to lay in, room for them to run around, 3 trees and a raised planter.  My lot backs up to a retention basin and I put bird seed and water out, so I get a lot of birds, plus lizards and squirrels.  I used to get bunnies, but that was B.A.  Before Angel.

Yesterday I was out in the yard refilling bird baths and bird feeders.  I saw what I thought was a dead sparrow in the grass. 

I picked it up to throw it over the wall so Angel wouldn't eat it.. It lay limply in my hand, blinking.  I saw no blood and hoped it was just stunned from hitting a window.  It was covered with ants.  I blew and brushed the ants off.  

I do not have the heart, or the courage, to kill a wounded creature.  And I was hoping it wasn't mortally wounded.  I looked for a safe place to set it, where neither ants nor Angel would get it.  As I was looking for a safe spot under the acacia tree, it shrieked and flung itself from my hand, landing on the hard ground. 

The shriek nearly tore my heart out.  Still, I didn't want Angel to get it, so I picked it up and set it on the bird block platform.  But the platform was swarming with ants, and in the full sun at 108 degrees.  I picked it up again. 

It shrieked again and flung itself out of my hand.  Again, I didn't want Angel to get it, so I picked it up and set it in the crook of the Chinaberry tree. 

I still haven't had the nerve to see if it died.  If I don't look, I can pretend it got better and flew away.

Later in the day, I found a dead baby bird in the bird bath under the tree. 

Sometimes the cycle of life sucks.