Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Be kind to your fine, feathered friends

Posted by Mickey Z on 07/05 at 05:12 AM

  2. Hi Mickey, Your article reminds me of something that happened about a year ago.
    I heard a bang on the window and had a look to see what had flown into it. There was a female blackbird on the ground. I went outside and it didn’t fly away, it was sat (not stood) on the concrete and was clearly alive.
    Not entirely sure what to do I held it gently and picked it up to see if it’s legs went down. Eventually it put its feet down and didn’t seem to have broken anything.
    I went inside for a few minutes, then had a look and it had gone.
    I sat down and then a female blackbird landed outside the window I sat next to, looked at me and chirped loudly, then flew away. Immediately a male blackbird landed and looked at me.

    Maybe it was random, or maybe the female was pointing me out, perhaps saying what a rubbish carnivore I am.

    Posted by Rick (the Cartoonist) from England  on  07/05  at  03:23 PM

  3. Congrats on the new writing roost, MZ. “The surest sign that animals are intelligent is they haven’t contacted us.” - Calvin & Hobbes (sorta)

    Rick, those blackbirds sounding off seems like ‘thank you’ to me.

    Fleeing up to the mountains yesterday, on a high, remote road I happened upon a black bear. It rocketed away at the sound of my car. Picture a furry running back dodging around fir trees, down a 45 degree slope. Gone!

    Posted by Zen Prole from Pac NW  on  07/05  at  05:17 PM

  4. Thanks, Zen. I wish you would’ve caught a photo of the bear but in a way, you did.

    And I agree with Zen, Rick. that may have been a thank you of sorts.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  07/06  at  05:10 AM

  5. Hello everyone..., we’ve been enjoying much Bird activity up in these parts. I realize there could be more and I’m happy to visit the river in the morning and see fish jumping, many Herons, Cormorants, Gulls, Eagles, Ospreys.

    This river is still polluted. I often imagine what the wildlife was like 200 years ago on this water, the Androscoggin River, before white greed infested the area.

    I too think animals will communicate with us. There were times when I regretted not being more aware of this while I had a dog living with me.

    Posted by Joe of Maine from The Window  on  07/06  at  08:51 AM

  6. @Joe

    re. dog communication - I spent a while in arctic Scandinavia learning to mush. There is a really interesting dynamic that goes along with that - to be successful you have to “join” the pack, rather than make demands and expect them to be followed. After a while the team becomes close to telepathic - subtle shifts in weight and balance are all it takes to change speed and direction.

    I have also had some intense experiences practicing meditation and qigong out in non-urban environments - birds landing on me and hanging out, foxes and deer coming close to check me out, and squirrels using me as a tree...some of the highlights of my life…

    Posted by subgenius from hell-A  on  07/06  at  11:10 AM

  7. Subgenius 5..., Thanks for that. I’ve heard more than once, dogs and probably all animals are telepathic.

    I had a very close relationship with an English Pointer, ‘Wings’, the spots on his side were shaped like wings and he ran like flying. He was/is far more intelligent and understanding than I, however my stupidity didn’t prevent us from loving each other. That’s how wonderful animals are and most human’s aren’t.

    Posted by Joe of Maine from The Window  on  07/06  at  01:45 PM

  8. Hi Sub, Joe, Zen, Mickey, Rick, and all…

    Lots of bird activity up here. Early yesterday a knocking sound woke me up. A yellow bird was banging on the window on the other side of the house. These are small, pretty yellow birds. They are determined to come inside.///The crows are so intelligent that they watch me as I work inside. When I go near the door with any food scraps they really get fired up.
    My favorite non-human communication is that among trees. They communicate when one of them is harmed by insects.  The sick tree alerts its fellow leafy friends by releasing a chemical to go from the sick tree to warn the others.  Not only communication, but also an example of empathy and compassion in the plant world.  Humans could learn a lot from trees.

    Posted by RMJ from Ward Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts  on  07/06  at  01:52 PM

  9. Feathered friends, I had lunch at a restaurant yesterday, that was once a textile mill along the river.

    We sat on the balcony that extends out over the water slightly. While waiting for our food, we watched a Bald Eagle doing circular gliding over the river. It looked spectacular against the bright blue sky. A Great Blue Heron glided just above the water and landed on a rock formation in the middle of the river, just beyond the balcony. My lunch was not as great as the bird activity but...,

    Posted by Joe of Maine from The Window  on  07/08  at  02:55 AM

  10. Thanks, all. I knew I could count on a bevy of great tales of connection here.

    On that note, a new post is up.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  07/08  at  05:16 AM

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