Last weekend I got up at 5 o'clock so that I could go back and forth to see the stepford chiro ebfore the husband woke up. I have been sciatica for weeks now. That's another story for another day- can you get sciatica from a knee? Because I feel like my knee is what is fucked up. Anyways, I brought sweet pea with me because I wanted to walk her as early as possible and actually drove straight to our favorite park and took a nice hot hike before coming back to the house. Mission accomplished, I got home from both walking sweet pea and an adjustment while he was still sleeping! SO I stepped onto the back patio to commune with my vegetable garden because (another tale for another day) I am about to be overrun with tomatoes and peppers and this gives me infinite happiness.
Anyways, feeling pretty freaking good that the day has worked out so well I sit down outside to settle myself back into patient watch, and I hear a strange flapping sound from close by. And the flapping repeats itself a few seconds later. This does not sound good, so I start looking for the source only to find a blue jay (we have tons of them. I know because they like my birdseed) caught in the deer netting I have around my garden. SHit!
I access the situation, grab a scissor and carefully begin trying to cut the netting away to let the poor Jay's foot free. In the mean time the poor thing, and I know he is terrified of me because they're the least trusting of all the birds I feed, is panting so hard I am in fear for his life. I think to myself that if he dies I will offer his little soul up to the backyard wildlife backyard preserve and complete the circle of life. I finally get his foot free and he tumbles to the ground. Not too far of a drop- a couple of feet. I know. I know. Don't make me feel worse that I already do. My bad- I thought I had one more thread to cut. I slip a bowl of fresh water by him and go inside because I am quite sure that he won't be okay if I stay close by. I keep peeking out the window as I text my friends about this traumatic event that I am in the middle of. I joke that I should have had the trail camera ready to record his rescue and take off. Then I take a peek and I do not see him so, naturally I immediately begin to celebrate in my head because... I saved the blue jay and now maybe he'll tell his friends and all of the blue jays wont be so frightened of me! I am elated! Just call me Snow White, friend to the animals.
Naturally I tip toe outside for verification and maybe pick up the water bowl when I discover that the poor guy just walked a few steps to behind a tomato plant and keeled over.
The guilt. OMG the guilt. I should have covered his little head when I touched him. I probably scared him to death. Or not let him fall. But I am pretty sure the fall alone didn't kill him. Ive seen smaller birds come crashing into our windows and fly away.
What did I do? You know what I did. I put him ON THE WALL and I set up the trail cameras. Yes, cameras, I have two and I thought back up couldn't hurt. Long story short, Nothing happened to him the first night. The next day around noon however, some crows stopped by AND TOOK HIS HEAD. How mother freaking bad ass is that from a crow?? It's freaking medieval and I am here for that. How many times have I watched a bunch of blue jays pestering some crows as they fly overhead? That is just next level. LOve it.
Then the blue jays body sat around for a couple of days stinking up the place, holy hell I had to take note of the wind direction before I went outside into the yard, and I decided that if it was still there this morning I was going to bury it but lo and behold guess who came through to finish the job in the middle of the night? A freaking skunk! I would have to have been listing every single animal I ever saw on the trail camera before guessing skunk. I didn't even know they ate birds. All that remained when I went out this morning were a few feathers on the ground next to the wall. I could not wait to check the trail cameras. I caught it on the good trail camera, the back up didn't even take a single image!
Other things this Snow White saw with her own eyes in the back yard this morning: A wild turkey, two adult deer, a seagull flying overhead, the adorable frolicking twin deer babies, and, ofcourse, all of the alive birds.
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