Blog Fodder

I never know where blog fodder will come from, but Farview seems to be well stocked.  Coming back toward the house on our morning walkabout, Pearl suddenly ducked around the juniper bush while I continued ambling along.  When I got up to the porch, Bessie had joined Pearl and both were batting at a woodpecker on the ground under the lilacs.  Wondering why the creature didn't just fly away, I thought, "Boy, that one is a goner."  Not wishing to see carnage, I went to the rescue and discovered this tousled "red-headed stepchild," a fledgling whose topknot feathers were just starting to sprout.  It didn't appear to be injured.  The panicked youngster bit any finger within reach, so I held it close under my chin until I felt its heart rate slow a bit and it became calm in my hand.  Now what?  If I tried putting it up high anywhere I could reach (I'm past the age of tree climbing), the baby would just fall again and start the drama all over.  Bess and Pearl suggested I just put their toy back on the ground.  Not an option.  I have bird cages, but had no idea what to feed this kid and really didn't wish to keep a wild thing trapped.  What to do?  It was time to get on with my chores so I needed to make a decision.  Bess and Pearl were the bird's most immediate danger, so I walked Bird out to the fenced garden, put it down in a barrel in the shade of the waiting mulberry trees, and wished the little one well.  Out in the semi-open, I hoped its mother would come back for a crash course in flight.  It wasn't until late afternoon before I walked back out to the garden, not sure I wanted to see what I might find.  I found nothing, and that was a good thing.  It might be that Bird was taken by a predator, but I'm thinking it finally remembered how to use those wings and flew off to rejoin its family.  I like happy endings, even if I have to make them up myself.