i had a wonder pets moment today day before yesterday.....
two pair of my finches have made nests from the bermuda hay & cotton stuffing i put in their 'aviary'
(it's really just an overly large cage~ appx 4ft wide X 4ft high X 1.5ft deep)
one couples nest was not built ver well & a couple days ago i found their only baby on the floor of the cage :(
well today day before yesterday,in the morning, i went in to check on them because they were making such a ruckus. the four (4!!)babies from the better built nest were on the cage bottom! they had no feathers yet & were barely moving.
This is sewius.
gently i maneuvered the cage around so i could check inside the nest. immediately i saw a thin spot...a hole the babies must have fallen through during the night. i got some more bermuda stalks from the chickens hay bale and tried to 'patch' the hole... much like darning a sock! i also pushed in & wedged a thin bamboo stick up under the entire nest to give it more support.
i pulled out the tray the babies had landed in and carefully picked them up from the sand, holding them in my cupped hands to warm them. soon they were moving around.
i held them a few more minutes, then i moved to open the big door to the cage. all the finches flew crazily about then settled in the far corner as i carefully rolled the babies into the nest. first the biggest, then another big one, then the two little ones at once. (if i had thought about it i would have put one little one in the other nest so the other mama & papa wouldn't be so forlorn)
so.
what do you do to warm up chilly babies?
put something warm into their bellies!
i made a bowl of cream of wheat & put a couple tablespoons into a 4" plastic plant saucer & put that in the cage bottom. all the adult finches flocked right to it. they looked like those glass drinking birds from the fair bobbing up & down! and for once all of them got quiet.
peep! peep! peep!
was clearly heard. the mama cocked her head to the side, listening. she flew right up to her nest & landed on the edge looking in curiously for a few long seconds, then she hopped in & fed them! soon she came out & papa went in & fed them some more.
YAY!!
the baby birds were saved!
& i felt good. yeah, its only a few fuckin finches but....
i helped someone in need, without their asking.
& it occurred to me that that is when humans are at their best.....
helping others who have suffered disaster.
we saw the outpouring from people all over the world for 9/11, katrina, the tsunamis, tornados & on & on.
it must be human nature... people go out of their way to help others that they don't know because some piece of that particular situation touches them in some way.
i have been on the receiving end of such largess...
when the tornado took off our roof in 1984 and destroyed our newly built greenhouse.
and to a lesser extent when in 1989 Hurricane Hugo picked up & floated my in-laws home, that they had just finished building for their retirement, off its foundation and across the yard.
i have also been on the other end...
organizing drives for food, medicine & clothing in my community for people who's houses burnt down, taking my extra garden produce to the local homeless shelter....
the thing is, we've got to get everybody to see.....
both smaller AND bigger.
smaller....we must look around our own counties, towns & neighborhoods & help those in need. it shouldn't have to be a disaster to help those in less fortunate.
Get Involved: finding space for & planting communal gardens, shopping at local independent stores to support the people in your community, volunteering somewhere just one or two days a month, taking advantage of buy-one-get-one at the grocery & taking the 'free' ones to your local shelter or food bank.... there are tons of things that can be done to help those around you help themselves. sometimes all you have to do is.... smile
bigger....that we have to stop pollution in its tracks NOW! before we do any more damage to the earth. we must all do all we can to lessen our impact on the earth not only personally in our daily lives but nationally & internationally by demanding changes to the laws & practices of corporations... holding them accountable for the damage they do to the environment, not only the pollution their factories generate but the packaging of their product also. we must demand companies return to recyclable packaging, & we as citizens must recycle everything we can. we must demand our representatives & government officials actually represent the will of the people & be held accountable to the same laws you & i are.
how can we do this quickly? what's going to work?
Team Work!!
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