Sunday, May 18, 2008

Dead branches for the birds . . .

Some people love to manicure everything, including their trees. They work all spring to cut out the dead branches, and maybe they work a little too hard, because here's a secret: I've watched birds bounce up and down on dead branches. The leafless, dry branches act like a teeter-totter (the birds working with the force of the tree) or a trampoline (the birds alight and then boing down, up, down, up, before ascending).

It makes me wonder if our brand of perfectionism isn't all that perfect for everyone else in our sphere of existence.

14 comments:

Betty Edit said...

You make the most fascinating observations. Now that you mention it, I've seen this happen with the birds and the branches, but I never would have noticed it if you hadn't pointed it out.

The saddest thing for me is to see one of those trees with all of its branches so lopped off that it is no more than a stubby trunk. That is so humiliating for a tree. Why do people do it? Why?

You are right. It's nowhere near perfect.

Olive Kite said...

Thanks for not pointing out that I had typed DREAD instead of DEAD.

Oh typos.

We have many of those ugly trees in our area, thanks to power lines and happy pruners.

Betty Edit said...

I actually didn't notice. And if I had I wouldn't have told you on your blog anyway.

Alicia said...

I've never noticed that before. I need to look more closely. I am probably guilty of pruning all the dead branches. Well, unless they are high up and then I'm too lazy. The birds will have to teeter-totter up there. :-)

Olive Kite said...

I LOVED the last line of your post, Alicia: "The birds will have to teeter-totter up there." That's classic.

Betty Edit said...

I will never hack the branches of my trees (or at least, I wouldn't if I had any trees) in the hopes that one day, I will see this bird.

Alicia said...

I think there are mourning doves in my neighborhood. They perch on my roof. I thought they were pigeons, but now I think they are doves. They are always coo-ing to each other.

Olive Kite said...

I prefer to call them morning doves. (And no one knows about the switch, unless I type the word out.)

Betty Edit said...

But "mourning dove" is so much more poetic, what with the symbol of peace being juxtaposed with a symbol of death and all...

Olive Kite said...

I have such intelligent friends.

By the way, I saw two mourning/morning doves yesterday.

Alicia said...

Your blog got me thinking about morning doves and actually noticing them. I have at least one fat little visitor to my bird feeder everyday. She comes to eat and torment SiSi through the glass door.

Olive Kite said...

I'm guessing SiSi doesn't particularly like the dove.

Alicia said...

Nope. SiSi doesn't.

My nephew was here the other day when the dove was feasting. I said it was a mourning dove and he said, oh, that's because they come around in the MORNING. So, it looks like they shall be known as morning doves. :-)

literaqueen said...

I want birds to use my trees as trampolines. All they do is gorge on my bird feeder so it's empty within a day of me filling it.