Monday, July 14, 2008

Of Sparrows and Dandelions

Years ago the sparrows chipped and fluttered in every treetop. They cluttered up the birdbath after the “good” birds finished their bathing. We watched for the cardinals and mockingbirds, but the sparrows were just common birds that always lined the trees and flitted around the dog bowls or cleaned up after the cows around the feed troughs. They weren’t anything special.

Sometimes I feel like a sparrow—just a common bird that can be taken for granted. Maybe even a nuisance to some . . .

The starlings and grackles have established themselves as more than a nuisance. They have driven off many of the “good” birds and have destroyed the nests of everything from woodpeckers to cardinals. Even the mockingbirds can be fought off by a menacing grackle. But the sparrows seem to hang on. Tough and enduring little critters, that’s what they are.

Some things I just have to admire: sparrows, petunias that come back year after year, and dandelions that persist in growing and blooming in the most inhospitable places. Maybe it is not so bad to feel like a sparrow after all.

1 comment:

Lance said...

I know you are being serious.....but it's so hard for me to be that way sometimes. Case in point, Iiiii..would hate to be a penguin. After watching march of the penguins and seeing the trials and hardships they have to go through JUST TO HAVE OFFSPRING. Think about that one for a while.
Sparrows may look ordinary and seem ordinary, but they are gutsy.
My mom is too.