From The Backyard

June 10th, 2010 |

It’s an annual event that from time to time has found its way into my “nook” articles.  Early every spring before the plants are blooming, our backyard becomes a splash of color as the bluebirds return to once again nest in their favorite box situated on the fencepost just beyond our screen porch.  Over the years we have watched them and their descendants raise many broods.  However, this spring we were devastated to find that something was disturbing the nest and getting the eggs.  Each time it occurred, the birds would go missing for several days, then return to try again.  We would breathe a sigh of relief, only to wake up one morning and find that the culprit had returned and the birds were gone.  After it happened the third time, I decided to take drastic measures and purchased a live trap.  I set it up on the ground right under the bluebird box.  After several days, I trapped a couple of suspects including a small possum I decided to release in an unpopulated area.  What was so interesting is that once in the trap, he was so terrified that I was barely able to get him out.  With the door open and a path to the woods clearly visible, the possum decided to move further back into the cage.  I finally had to shake him out.  It was a pretty comical scene as he clung to the sides as if his life depended on it.  Eventually he let go, hit the ground, and scurried into the woods.  I hope the ordeal taught him that messing with “the preacher’s” bluebirds will not be tolerated.  If he was innocent of the crime, maybe he learned that living around things that mess with “the preacher’s” bluebirds is likewise not a good idea.  What do they call that – guilty by association?  Anyway, the birds are nesting again. So far, the box has not been disturbed.  Their persistency is a lesson for life.  Likewise, the possum reminds us not to back further into our problems when the Lord is trying to set us free.

From the backyard,
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