The Simple Stuff

My brain is constantly going in terms of this business I own: editorial? what's good for the animals? How to continue making money while doing what I love and giving back to the subject matter that I have ADORED since I was a toddler....animals!!!! Questions like: What do I need to do to try and get the word out about animals needing homes, laws, abuse, etc etc etc....those of you that sacrifice a huge amount of your time to these causes know the daily heartaches, honestly I can say it has caused many nights of tears for myself. By-the-way, those of you that love animals and do things as simple as seeing an animal on the side of a busy road, even when you may be on your way somewhere important - stop and coax the animal to you to take them somewhere, anywhere more safe for the moment are in the top 5 of my list of heroes. With that said, it was nice to witness just some true, cute, innocent animal antics outside my home recently. I found it funny and fascinating at the same time.

I was hearing this ridiculously loud "mocking" sound - so yes, from a mockingbird but then there was a sound that seemed to want to mock the same but didn't come out quite the same as momma mock. It was hilarious! First of all, I've never seen (except maybe a close resemblance of mourning doves) baby birds being larger than their parent...this booger was not only bigger, but fatter, louder and demanding. I must admit, mockingbirds are not my favorite bird - although aggressive in demanding attention, their just not that "pretty" (I mean come on, the dove's are angelic for god's sake!) but this baby mock was a cute little lovebug, um, lovemock - I watched him hop around my patio, hop up to the table, hop to the back of the chair, hop on the top of the umbrella, and hop to the top of the outdoor bar (no underage drinking-thank you very much) all the while screeching for his/her mom to just throw him/her a bone/worm/straw/flower/nut which did not happen so he/she just continued to hop around while the next character came into play - a chipmunk joined the two on the patio after he ran from the covered porch with some stolen plant material from my potted plants. Mind you, this chipmunk (or his friends/family) I have witnessed, actually reclines on my outdoor patio couch. I'm pretty sure the chipper thought it was purchased for him - whatever, I'm glad someone gets to relax on it!

Anyway the most fascinating of this entire observation is when I let out one of my dogs (my 109 lb lab, Winnie) the baby mockingbird AND it's momma were not too interested in Winnie. The momma mockingbird dive-bombed Winnie a couple of times as a warning even. Then Winnie went inside and I watched the chipmunk scurry out and look at the baby mock, and his/her mom and they all seem to have an understanding that "it's all good"...and the chipmunk continued to eat WHATEVER he/she could find and the Mock family kept up with their mock screams...although so sweet to hear, it was a simple, nice, day for the animals and those that were lucky to observe.