The Turtle and the Bird

I have complained that Montana has two seasons, Winter and July.

We don’t own an air conditioner, instead, we open things up when it is cooler outside than it is inside and we close things up when the heat is on outside.

Sunday evening the temperatures inside and out suggested opening the front door. Rather than fight with the screen door hitting me in the back-side, I tend to use the piston-ish gadget that keeps it open.

I have introduced our box turtle, Cally Berry in a previous post. She is a quiet turtle, keeps to herself. Cally Berry lives in a converted ‘walking stick’ tank with a basking light and bark flooring to dig into. We put this tank at a window on the south side of the room opposite the open door.

Now, we have the open door and the unassuming turtle who can find her way home.

We have owls, magpie, chick-a-dees, deer, rabbits, quail, and occasionally a bear. I am sure I left out some critters. Voles! I forgot the voles.

A tiny brownish grey bird flew through the front door and smacked into the south window. Poor thing.

I called for my son, to help find this bird and shoo it in a northern direction.

He said it was too late. I didn’t understand, I told him it hit the window hard and is probably stunned. He still insisted it was too late.

As I got to the end of the room where the bird should have been, my son was pulling out his cell phone to document the stunning sight.

There in the tank, Cally Berry crunched the bird’s neck and had already settled in for a very big snack.

When I last posted about our amazing and smart box turtle I had a new respect for her as a pet and a species. Now, I am almost afraid of her.

What an unlucky day it was for the tiny bird. Flying through the door, slamming into a window, dropping into the turtle’s fierce jaws formed a perfect storm of luck for Cally Berry.

What are the odds of such a thing happening? My granddaughter, Shaman-Ariadne suggested that if I closed the screen door, fewer birds would come in. I should take her advice just to avoid the havoc of a stray deer bounding through.

Thanks for hanging around for another post. Comment if you feel lucky. In a few days I will post an update on the Parking Space that is Out of Order.