Life and Death...all around me everyday

I was watching the resident Bluebirds, (I have 6 well attended boxes) while weeding the garlic the other day. The birds would light on the Purple Martin pole, spot a cricket kicked up by my weeding, and bounce down to do battle. Takes 'em minute of totally disarm a cricket. The Mockingbirds and the Phoebes have also begun to gather at the agricultural endeavours for easy pickings. help with my bug problem.

Another war goes on overhead. I was bush hogging the lower poison ivy crop, and Overhead was an army of search and destroy Dragonflies. I hear that every time they dart, a flying insect meets it's doom. Sorta like an old style WWI dog fight in the sky. I love to watch them, but they are silent and deadly.

And then there's That Damn Cat. Chipmunks, squirrels, mice, field rats, shrews, moles, rabbits, lizards, and the occasional bird make up a portion of her diet...daily. I don't believe I ever paid that much attention to the damage just one cat can do to populations of small critters. She has almost wiped out the chippy and short tail shews around the house.

 I've heard that in Australia, the feral cats have almost emaciated the native bird population in some areas. Cats are the ultimate predator...and small animals know it...that's why they have lots of babies: to feed the masses. Too bad cats haven't evolved that way. They'll soon eat themselves out of house and home if they keep reproducing.

Sorta' like us.

We are fortunate there are not a lot of animals that consider us food in this country. I think the only real predators we have left are Bears, Pumas, and maybe a Wolf or two. Gone are the days when giant Eagles would swoop down and carry off a toddler playing in the yard, wolf packs carried away whole families, and their stock, panthers and pumas and other things that went bump in the night wreaked havoc with the early settlers, as reported by local folklorist.

I guess the day to day life and death scenario that plays out on a daily basis is mainly ignored by our giant selves. I remember seeing a movie Janice bought home called Jack, the Giant Killer. It was really just a fancied up Jack in the Beanstalk screwed up by Hollywood. Janice brings me kids movies, because I can't handle the hard stuff. Anyway, they magic beans do there part, and giants come swarming down the bear stalks to eat us all up.

I wonder, at times, whether there ARE giants looking down on us as if we are insects, etc. and wonder what in the world is going on when they see us shooting, stabbing, and otherwise dispatching each other. It's been going on forever, and will continue to do so, I'm sure. Destination? Oblivion, wherever that is.

Life is a tenuous thing...take full advantage of the time you have left...even if you're only 5. Who knows when a dragonfly, cat, or some natural disaster will come a knocking...especially if Hollywood is at work.

Okay, back out into the jungle...