The black bird and the squirrel

Our bird feeder is one of my favorite things to observe and enjoy, watching the Daddy and Momma cardinals and the red finches are my favorites.  As we have have been observing the last several days though, something even more incredible and frustrating is occurring.  My Dad refilled the bird seed and then literally only several hours later a large volume of the seed was gone already!  I started watching more closely to see what had changed… Finally, I saw a huge black bird on the bird feeder, it is so large that it causes the bird feeder to sway back and forth. I then noticed that there was our cute, fat squirrel sitting under the bird feeder eating and eating!  Well, the black bird is not eating the food, he is knocking the seed off to the ground as quickly as his beak can push it out of the feeder, as the seeds are hitting the ground, the squirrel is there to harvest, eat or save the seed for later!  This whole process amazed me and I told my parents about it. Of course in typical Dad form he stated that he had previously seen the squirrel paying off the black bird in the back yard, now he knew why! 

It is amazing to me how animals are able to fend for themselves, even work together to ensure that each other is fed.  This process with the black bird and the squirrel has happened on several occasions and they always end up at the feeder together.  Again, I see how even animals can demonstrate what one can do for another and how two certainly is better than one!  There are so many times throughout the day that I have the opportunity to be the black bird and push some seed down for someone who cannot reach it otherwise. ( by the way, watching the squirrel hang from the limb and try his hardest to reach the feeder previously was pretty entertaining as well, however, he was never successful ) How often I let these opportunities pass me by though, that part makes me sad. I am going to make a very conscious effort to take advantage of each opportunity I am given each day to help someone else, to push their seed to the ground so that they can have a better day.  

As I go through this journey I have been given, I want to learn to say thank you for it on a daily basis.  Without this struggle, without this storm, there are so many lessons that would have been left unlearned, so many people I would not have been in contact with and so many opportunities that I would not have had any other way.  Each struggle can turn into a success, each burden into a blessing, each worry into a wonderful moment to trust and each trouble into a triumph!  Thank you for being on this adventure with me and to so many of you, thank you for being my black bird!  Have a wonderful Wednesday, enjoy each moment!