From Peace to War in a Flash

It looks like our bird feeder has sprouted a tail, doesn't it?

Let me introduce you to this little guy.  He has a first name and a last name, neither of which do I dare share.

Hubby is sure we're heading toward bankruptcy if we keep feeding the menagerie of critters that live within the boundaries of our property.  I've heard "pellet gun" mentioned, and even worse.  That's when my feathers ruffle, and the real fun around here begins.

For me, this defines heaven.....surrounded by bushy tails, bandit faces, and colorful feathers.  There's only one creature that I cannot stand and that's the one that wiggles its way through the grass.  Other than that, I'd be okay with an elephant in the back yard.

Oh, I know I go overboard over animals, but as a little girl, they were my absolute best friends on the farm.  Woolly lambs and baby calves, wiry goats that used to jump up on our car, cows that I milked by hand, and faithful mongrel pooches were the first ones I went to with my little-girl cares.  They listened as I fed them, petted them, and loved them.  That's maybe the reason for my painfully high level of compassion today.

Thank goodness hubby is tolerant and goes no farther than playing Outsmart with my bushy-tailed buddies.  Oh, I come from a family of avid hunters, so it's not like I'm playing savior.  Our family table at home was regularly plated with squirrel soup, fried squirrel, wild rabbit, pheasant, venison and all kinds of fish that we ourselves harvested.  My family was poor, and we literally lived off the land.

One of my secret adult games is observing the levels of compassion in others.  It's surprising how often I feel like I'm the only one on the planet who cares for the cat missing a leg or the chipmunk that gets run over by a car.  If I saw a mouse suffering, it would break my heart.

BULLETIN.......
This blog is being interrupted
with breaking news................

Hubby just told me the squirrel is swinging on the bird feeder again. (I giggle.)


AND....that my decorative hanging frog is on the ground, busted to pieces.


"You have got to be kidding me!"


"Come see for yourself."

Due to recent circumstances, there has been an unprecedented turn-around in my self-proclaimed compassion for these brazenly bold bushy-tailed beasts that have quite successfully managed to p__ me off.

PHOTO OF THE DAY
My Precious Frog
Poor little frog.
I'm going to glue him back together.
After I shoot the squirrel!

There's a moral here.....

how we feel about others depends on how they treat us.