Just a typical day. Errands and more errands. You know how those days are. Plus trying to get everything done so I can watch the Celtics game mid-afternoon. And it’s my night to cook dinner. But everything’s on track so far. My last stop – Kroger’s. I found a primo parking space, speed-walk inside, reach for a cart and WHAM! A bird flew into the window at full speed. The stiff wind probably helped it along too. I didn’t want the poor thing to get run over, so I ditched the cart and went outside to stand guard over it. It was a female cardinal. Down here they call them "redbirds." I didn’t have much hope for her recovering. Sometimes they just get stunned, but most of the time they break their neck or worse, get a concussion. If the concussion is bad enough – and it usually is – they don’t make it, but it takes a while for them to die. This one was laying on her back. She was still breathing and blinking her eyes, but it didn’t look good. Then after 5 minutes or so, she flipped over onto her feet and tried to fly. No go. So she just sat there. After a while her eyes began to close – not a good sign. Minutes passed. Then she started opening her eyes, but she didn’t try to fly. You know those grocery store parking lots – no grass or trees anywhere close by. I figured she might do better if I could get her out of the stiff wind and near grass and trees. In other words, my back yard. And if she died, I could give her a decent burial. Another shopper offered to watch over her while I went to my car to get a box to carry her in. Cardinals can bite very, very hard, so I was cautious when I picked her up. She didn’t try to bite me, for which I was grateful. I put her in the box and drove her to my house. When I took of the lid of the box she flew right into our stand of azaleas! Yay! Hopefully she has recovered and has discovered our bird feeders and water. And made some new friends!
Feathers & Fur 