Sophie’s Experiment

Sophie & I were working in the garden. (We both love gardening, in particular digging holes.) A cardinal was singing and singing. “Grammy, wouldn’t it be a good idea to make a nest for the birds?” “Well, that’s an interesting idea.” Briefly I considered pointing out that we don’t get birds that nest on the ground, but I was tired and she was so enthusiastic, her imagination was in high gear. “We could dig a hole, put soft things in it. . .” “Well, yes, I guess we could start collecting things,” I replied. (Yes, it was an attempt to stall.) “We could use a towel,” she said & dashed off to the house. She returned with a hand towel & asked me if that was OK to use. “Yes,” I absentmindedly replied and went in to make dinner. As I left, she said, “We need to leave food for the birds. Do you have bird seed?” “No, it’s gone, but I’ll look for something else.” In a few minutes, she was in the kitchen asking for the food. I got some bread crumbs. “Do you want to sprinkle some on or put them in a dish?” “A dish.” Out she went with a half-filled glass custard dish. While I cooked, she made a second nest with another dish of food. She ate & then I drove her home. On the way, she said, “Grammy, tomorrow, don’t forget to check the nest to see if the bird is there.” “Ok” “Check everyday. You can make a chart.” “Ok” “Check the food too. Even if the bird isn’t there, it might eat the food. You can put that on the chart too.” Ok. I returned home & went back to writing Stirring. When Linda arrived, I told her the story. She figured that Sophie must had gotten the good guest hand towels from the downstairs bathroom (because Linda put them there for our weekend guests). We went out to look. The sight was so sweet–the “nests,” each with a dish of food, carefully arranged side-by-side between the daffodils and hyacinths. “Let’s leave it. We can wash the towels,” Linda said. “Yes,” I replied. “Besides I have to make a chart.”

#Birds #Garden