One of the downsides of living in a house with a lot of glass is that, inevitably the odd bird flies into that glass. We’ve had a few of bird accidents in the years since we built the new house, and of course it is not something we enjoy. I guess it's harder on the birds. Shauna pasted some decals on the window to warn of the danger, and we put up some of those kiddie windmills to try and keep the birds away from the house, but despite our best efforts, there are still a few casualties each year. Sometimes, if a bird hits the window, it will be stunned and lying on the ground. If this happens, I usually go outside, assess the situation, and determine if this is a rescue operation or a lost cause. Lost causes get tossed down the hill. A rescue operation involves an attempt to revive the unconscious but breathing bird, stroking its head gently, and perhaps moving it to someplace where it can recover out of reach of predators. I’m certainly no bird doctor, and there are no attempts made at mouth to beak resuscitation, or at the mending of broken wings. With these window crashes, it’s usually a harmless knockout or a broken neck. The other day we all heard a very loud crash, and we discovered that a rather large dove had crashed into the window. It was now laying head first in the snow, legs sticking straight up. Judging from the sound it made when it hit the glass, I was fairly sure this one was a “lost cause.” I went outside, confirmed my suspicion, and sadly tossed it down Bird Boot Hill. Later on that evening I was looking out the window, and noticed a mark where the bird had hit. Upon closer examination I realized that the mark was a perfect outline of the victim - I mean down to the beak and eyes, and it was kind of creepy. Shauna and I cannot figure out exactly what is the material sticking to our window, perhaps some bird expert out there can enlighten us. This is the first time that there has been a mark like that. There might be the odd feather sticking to the window but never the entire imprint of the bird. Anyhow, we have so far left the mark untouched. I find it fascinating, and I prefer to let that incredible mother which is nature wipe it clean in time, or not. Feathers to feathers, dust to dust.
I used to
think birds were uninteresting and not very smart, but changed my mind about
that when we started hiking out west. In fact it was those visits to the
Canadian Rockies that gave me a newfound respect for all forms of wildlife,
both flora and fauna. We named one bird who visited our loft balcony regularly
“Broke Toe” because he/she was missing one claw. I presume he was in a bar
fight or something. Broke Toe was a Clark’s Nutcracker, a species of bird known
locally in Banff for its annoying, fingernails-on-a-blackboard song, but if
ever a bird had personality and attitude, it was Broke Toe. He became a member
of our dysfunctional family, and would occasionally hang out with us for no
special reason. I think he liked Shauna more than he liked me. Every year we stayed
in the same hotel room in Banff, and every year, without fail, Broke Toe came
to visit us. Sometimes he would bring along members of his family. I learned that
these particular nutcrackers will store food in thousands of different hiding
places, and they remember every
location. Out in Banff there were Whisky Jacks, huge Common Ravens, Dark-eyed Juncos,
Snow Owls, Eagles, and dozens of other interesting birds, but Broke Toe was hands
down our favorite bird.
It is now Sunday afternoon and at present Toronto is dealing with a major ice storm. Right now about 300,000 are without power, including my mother-in-law. What a mess it is. Trees are down all over the city and the current estimate is that many will be without power for 72 hours, maybe longer. Of course, power outages are much more serious in the winter, and with colder weather in the forecast, I am concerned for the safety of Shauna’s mom. Thankfully she has a caregiver with her, but there is really nowhere to go, and no supplemental source of heat or power. A lot of people figure that a gas generator is a good idea, and it is, if you buy a decent one. The cheap ones you can buy at Walmart may or may not work when you need them, and I’ve heard a lot of complaints about generators that fail. There are going to be a lot of utility workers who miss Christmas this year in Toronto, and like so many weather-related disasters, the severity of this one is still being assessed. Up here in the GWN, we’ve had snow, but nothing special. I have raked the carport tarp twice in the past 24 hours, and we will likely need to have the driveway plowed again (it was plowed yesterday). I am watching Toronto news right now and our bellicose mayor just announced that he is not declaring Toronto a disaster area. He may need to lay off the crack for a couple of days to handle this latest crisis. Ford should be kissing Mandela’s butt for dying when he did, because that took the spotlight off him.
Merry
Christmas to those who partake and remember, if you are going to get toasted,
do it in front of an open fire and not driving your car out on the open (and
icy) roads. Ho friggin’ ho, and don’t be one. . I’m really hoping one of those
wild turkeys doesn’t kamikaze into our window.
Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c2013 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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