One tough bird!

There is a small bird in my yard that could serve as an inspiration to all of us. It is not a rare bird in that there are many others of the same species flocking around here. It is not a flashy, showy bird with beautiful bright feathers. No, this is just an everyday, ordinary mockingbird. Still, it should be an inspiration..at least it is to me. You see, last year when this bird was just a nestling, it was attacked by crows and was literally torn to pieces. The parent birds tried their best to fight off the much larger crows but they lost all but this baby to the ruthless attack. And this baby was severely injured. Along with the many other injuries, it had lost a leg to the marauding crows. Normally in the wild, birds will just abandon injured babies and re-nest. Not these birds! The parent birds patiently tended to this tiny, helpless baby and nursed it back to reasonably good health. Today, our one-legged mockingbird sits on the old pine stump and sings its heart out. It sings day and night. It sings as if to declare.."I love life and I am going to live it with a happy heart!" I love this bird! We, as humans, whine way too much about the most minor things that we feel are not to our liking. We complain about our aches and pains as if ours are worse than any pains endured by others. We complain about the weather, our spouses and our lot in life. We just complain. Why can't we be more like this bird? Why can't we make the best of what is given us and be happy? Why can't we sing with a joyous heart? I love this bird!

Off on another note.. sometimes mistakes can be happy things themselves. I have had recipes that are a total mess when mixing but the cake comes out of the oven delicious. Then there are art projects that because of one slip or another have to be rethought and remade but turn out to be a favorite. Well, in photography, sometimes this also happens. The lights across the calm waters of the Bay provide an incredible view at times. This was so the other night and I had the brilliant idea to snap a few pictures to share with you. Ha! Ezzy, the dog, had a different idea! She thought it would be much more fun to play tag! It seems as if her running and colliding with my leg coincided with each snap of the camera. Focus..snap..bump..wiggle!

This makes for some really unusual pictures! These look more like we are being under attack from some space aliens rather than a playful pup. Still, the colors and the composition are pleasing for some strange reason. Perhaps it is just really hard to be angry at a happy dog that thinks you are the best thing in the world. Or perhaps, my artistic eye sees things just a tad differently! Regardless, these pictures make me smile and so does Ezzy!