Noisy Chickadees

Five chickadees arrived on my deck railing at the same time. I suspect it was Mother with 4 of her brood. Wow. Chickadees have a very different family culture than the one i grew up in.

First of all, they all talk at the same time, all the time. And they are loud! No wonder Mother wanted to kick them out of the noisy nest. In addition to calling each other "Sweetheart," they yell at each other constantly. These are my seeds. Go find your own. Or Get off my branch. I was here first. Or Mom! Then they all fly off together, so they obviously do love each other.

I love individual chickadees, but five at a time was eye-opening.

For those of us who are naturally quiet, for those of us who are conflict-averse, for those of us who give in easily, can we find our chickadee voices? Can we give voice to our authentic selves?

After all, the chickadees do call each other Sweetheart.

Jenny Wren

Wrens are hopping around the tall flowering plants of August--phlox, vernonia, low shrubs. Wrens mostly eat small insects, so i assume they are cleaning my tall perennials. I hope they "clean" my houseplants (of aphids, scale, white fly) before i bring them indoors in October.
My grandmother called her middle daughter Jenny Wren, so i have a deep, affectionate feeling for all the busy wrens in my gardens. These brave little birds sing loudly and beautifully, and they are not skittish around people.
In these times, we may be called on to be brave even though we feel small. We may be called upon to speak up or speak out, even around big bullies.
Open your heart and sing your very own song--like the wren.