Bird one

This morning, while outside in our yard, I was witness to the sweetest small bird hitting our kitchen window while it was flying at full speed. It landed head-down into the grass, and lay there, frozen, with its eyes alert and blinking. I didn’t know what to do or how to help, so I just busied myself around the yard, staying far away but keeping a worried eye on the bird. It stayed motionless and silent for about twenty minutes, and then suddenly it flew away.

Bird two

Later in the afternoon, on the very same day, we were outside installing some scaffolding in the same area near the house. Something caught my attention, and I glanced into our kitchen through the window, wherein I noticed that there was a bird flying around inside our kitchen; it was flapping against the closed window, trying to get out!

Cameron was twenty-feet up in the sky on top of the scaffolding, so I–being on the ground–rushed  inside to try to gallantly herd the poor trapped bird out of the house. I gladly rose to the challenge and ran into the kitchen, at which point I was once again reminded that I am the last person that should be involved in an emergency situation, especially when it involves moving, fluttering, animals.

Cameron, twenty-feet up on scaffolding, could see into the kitchen and was yelling encouragement and ideas, such as “Just direct the bird towards the door!”, and “Use your hands!” More commentary followed: “Laura-Jane, do something!”, and then “Hello?? Are you going to do something?” He said.

In my defense, I was doing something. Even though it looked like I was just standing in the middle of the kitchen looking frightened and making small gestures towards the general vicinity of the bird, I was trying to think! I was trying to plan! I was trying to come up with a concrete, fail-safe strategy! I was evaluating the options!

So, while Cameron climbed down the seventeen rungs of scaffolding, walked around the entire house, came up into the kitchen, bypassed me (as I stood as frozen as the window-stunned bird from this morning), gently seized the bird in his hands, and let it fly out the door like that dove from “Touched by an Angel”, I really was doing something. I swear.