birds do the weirdest things

Nazca boobies on Espanola Island, Galapagos Archipelago
Copyright (c) 2007 Wendee Holtcamp

Birds do the strangest things. For the past four or five days, every morning at the wee hours of the morning I've been rudely awoken by a whacking on my bedroom window. The first morning, I was like, what the heck is that?! I woke with a start, then heard it again. Something was flying into my bedroom window. Over. And. Over.

And did I mention over again?

I opened the blinds, and it abated for a short time. I fell back asleep for about 15 minutes, only to be awoken by the same noise. Whack! Thrash! A bird was just smacking its beak and body againt my window. "What is its problem?!" I thought. I got my butt out of bed, and walked out my backdoor in my underwear and a shirt I was sleeping in, grabbed the broom by the back door, and started whacking the broom at the bush. I realized the bird was nowhere in sight. I realized I could see my neighbors windows, and that meant they probably could see me from the right angle, so I went back inside. Probably would make a great viral Youtube video - Animal Planet news blogger goes crazy in underwear trying to off a cardinal with a broom! Ha!

I went back to bed, hoping I'd deterred it. Made it choose another home to haunt. I like my beauty rest!

Fifteen minutes later - whack. Whack. Whack.

I gave up, and got up for the day. The first couple days I thought it was just a morning thing, but then I realized that anytime during the day when I went back in my bedroom for various things, every single time that dang bird was doing this same thing!! I think it has seriously lost its marbles. Or if it hasn't it will after all that head-whacking! I finally saw that it was a bright red cardinal, so likely a male is seeing its reflection in the mirror. But that does not make it any less annoying and maddening when you're trying to sleep. On various mornings, I have whacked back at the window, opened the window blinds, thrown my teddy bear at the window, and ran outside to scare it off. It's a persistent little bugger. It always comes back. I thought about getting my son's BB gun...

But seriously, I couldn't hurt it. I felt bad when I stepped on a garter snake's little head while running on the greenbelts the other day. I rescue spiders and bugs from certain demise inside my house (cockroaches are an exception!) I don't like hurting anything. So I came up with my brilliant idea this morning - and it worked! I got my ladder out, took an old sarong I'd gotten in the Bahamas, and thumbtacked it over the crescent window that the cardinal had been hurling itself at. I also had a backup. I took my son's stuffed owl and placed it in the window sill.

Problem solved. I put this up at about 7am and got to sleep soundly until 9am. Hallelujah!

messengers from the night

A bee on a false indigo flower, Mississippi
Copyright (c) 2000 Wendee Holtcamp

My son just came in from playing outside on the cul de sac with his friend.

"Mom, there's ths HUGE moth outside! Come look at it!"

"Is it a Luna moth?" I ask, knowing we see a lot of them here.

"No, come look!"

So we walk down the street to our neighbors yard and there is a big brown moth, about the size of a Luna (which is about 4 or 5 inches across) with spots on its wings. Next to it is a piece of a wing of the same species.

"I don't know if that is one of its wings? It seems like it has all 4 of its wings. Maybe it's another one?" Sam says.

"I think it's a shed wing," his friend says.

"I think that is probably the wing from another moth, probably its mate. A lot of times moths mate, and the female lays her eggs and then she dies. Is it dead?"

"No it was moving, walking across the grass a little bit ago."

I poke at it a bit, and it wiggles. "I think it's dying. I think it's on its last leg."

I go back inside and Sam follows, bringing in the extra part of the other wing to put on his bookshelf. He heads back and outside, then comes running into the house not one minute later.

"Guess what?! Mom! While I was inside, T (his friend) saw a cardinal eat the moth! It just ate it right up! One second it was there, and the next it is gone!"

A friend of mine has a book, "Animal Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small" by Ted Andrews and she tells me the meaning of some of the animals I come across. Nothing specifically about the moth, but it reminds me of a harbinger of the night. Night represents darkness. And the appearance of the night-creature in the day is interesting, especially since I've had a real nightmare of a struggle of a month. It's not a nightmare like some people I know of going through real and serious struggles, like the death of a spouse, or cancer, or serious illness or loss. But in the midst of my pretty darn good life right now there has been some incredibly intense struggle. A struggle to make a decision and to know God's will and to know my own heart and mind and just general struggle and mild depression rendering as lethargy and lack of motivation. Back and forth. Struggle. I'm ready to be free and happy.

The cardinal represents "Renewed vitality through recognizing self-importance" and "To remind us to add color to your life, and remember, everything you do is of importance." It's interesting that the cardinal came and ate up the harbinger of night.

So tonight is yet another girl's night out - this time to celebrate Stinky's birthday TODAY and my birthday Sunday! We're going to have $2 margaritas at this Tex Mex place around the corner we went to the other night. And then this weekend I'm taking the kids to Sea World!