Us, Them, Other...

Dear Maria,

Good late-February morning. Nearly four and half inches of rain last night, upper 30s now, and a wind—in short, snotty. But soon March, and March surely speaks more of spring than winter. At least around here. Of course, we may see the latest snow on record, and Mother Nature laughs last. Again.

The bluebirds have reclaimed their home from the sparrow, and so my bias has triumphed. Without my hand stirring the nest. How much easier to be on the winning side without having to dirty my hands in the process.

No doubt there are other folks who are so much about being in the fray that winning or losing may be a moot point. Earlier this morning I wished to be catapulted somehow to the day after the elections next year. Without my life being shortened so much as a minute. And some folks think I am no starry-eyed dreamer—indeed.

Random thought, sort of: I wonder if the Koch brothers love this country as much or more than Rudy Giuliani?

The Us vs Them mindset strikes me as easy. Differences must be easy. Has to be easy that with just .1% difference between us biochemically-speaking, so much fracturing occurs within our population. Or maybe our species is very gifted when it comes to differentiation. Vive la difference, then, I suppose.

Busy morning at and under the feeder. A pine warbler, a tufted titmouse, a red-breasted woodpecker, Carolina chickadees, mourning doves, cardinals, field sparrows, and what seemed a small sparrow with a white collar that very aggressively chased away other birds that came within half-a-foot of its pecking zone. Vive la difference.

And squirrels. Always, the squirrels.

For all that action, the other morning just a blue jay on the bird bath and a cardinal on the feeder. Enough, wasn't it?

Here’s to the end of the longest shortest month of the year. Some warmer days and a little more sunlight, and we are all better soon enough.

Be well, love others, and see you soon, I hope. srk