There are days in life where you are presented with such a simple scenario – a quiet Monday morning (one in which you are NOT required to go into work), some rainfall, a cup of coffee, and a comfy patio chair…throw in a few window shaking cracks of thunder, and I am a happy boy.

On this particular morn, I noticed some blackbirds squawking away, enjoying the Fall showers from their perches atop a dormant tree. They ruffled their plummage, squawked songs of joy, leaped & bounced from limb to limb.

They truly seemed to enjoy each other's company... at least until a sparrow had the audacity to land in what must surely have been ‘their’ quadrant. As the sparrow came to light on a scrawny branch opposite the other birds, all activity ceased. No squawking, no wing flapping, no tail feathers shaking. Everyone simply stared. 

There seemed to be a head blackbird in the pack, because he looked at the sparrow, then hopped one branch toward him. He squawked out some orders, and another blackbird took flight and chased after the sparrow.  The remaining soldiers seemed satisfied with the results, and went back to their showering.

Wow, a simple act of unwelcomeness amongst fellow feathered flying critters, and I became unsettled.

Now, being one of those dark grey, ethereal type Monday mornings- coffee in hand, hooded sweatshirt, cozy in my patio chair- I thought about that little sparrow & pondered his fate and how that little guy just wanted to rest for a moment, on the opposite side of that bare-branched tree. Surely he meant no harm, but he didn’t belong, plain & simple. And on went the unsettling thoughts- contemplating the state of humanity & injustice & righteous indignation! So much for the foggy joy that had been mine moments before.

In the course of these ruminations & pathetic worry over the sparrow’s well being, I hadn’t noticed that the blackbirds had taken flight, leaving the tree quite abandoned. Maybe to terrorize earthworms, or to take up the chase with their comrade in the hunt for the infamous sparrow that dared to encroach on their domain.  What I did notice a few moments later, though, was that little sparrow return and light on that lifeless tree. He settled nicely on the same branch that he had been so rudely chased from earlier, ruffled his feathers, looked around, and chirped.

I couldn’t help but smile, and as I raised my coffee mug, 

I thought “Way to go, little dude…way to go”.

Pure joy injected into this November Monday…simple & crisp, with a dash of victory…

Cheers to the little guy that now rules the roost!! 

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P.S. - I am not sure what it says about me that my Nikon goes everywhere with me these days, but I even have it with me to go into my own backyard, with a hot cup of coffee. It is my constant companion (sshhh... not sure how my wife would view that statement).

I no longer keep a gun by my bedside (moving from Cali to Texas has given me a certain sense of freedom, in that respect), but I do indeed have my camera snuggled in it's case near my bed.