Every Garden Needs Birds!

Today, we had the back door of the store propped open after our class on sound experiments. This was necessary as the children made megaphones. They loved these but the noise inside the store became increasingly loud, so we propped the door open and let the kids go out behind the store with their megaphones. (Thank you to all the patient moms! Also, my sincere apologies.)

A little while after everyone had left, I was on the phone and a sparrow flew right through the store! The poor little bird was frantic as it tried to find it's way out through one of the storefront windows. I "calmly" got off the phone and stood there, just as perplexed as the sparrow. The only difference was that I was not flapping my wings against the glass. I was running around in circles quite a bit though. At a loss for what to do, I called my husband who after laughing and laughing, suggested I throw a blanket over the bird and scoop it up! I said, "Are you kidding me?" No, that was his best idea. Well, after standing there for a little while longer, growing more concerned by the moment that the bird would hurt itself, I took a light weight cotton shirt and threw it over the bird. Much to my surprise, the bird did not freak out and start flapping even more frantically. I was actually able to scoop it up like one of the chicks at our Fort Wayne Zoo and rushed outside to release it! Phew!

My daughter immediately began building a birdhouse out of the MegaBloks so the next bird who flew in the store would have a "home". I closed the door, told her how thoughtful I think she is and we had a mini-lesson on appropriate animal habitats. Guess, we'll be keeping the door closed at the store from now on. Last year, when we opened the store, there were never any birds around. We started throwing seed out on the ground for them. Maybe, this bird was looking for dessert.