Nature notes
By Lynn McKeown
Animals in winter
IÕm sitting here watching
the snow fall in what is turning out to be a rather severe winter. IÕve put out
corn and bird seed for the squirrels and birds, and there are four or five fox
squirrels around our burr oak in the back yard.
There will be birds coming
to the feeder just behind our breezeway — cardinals, chickadees,
starlings and the ever-present house sparrows. Yesterday I saw a white-throated
sparrow, a straggler from the flocks we always have in our shrubbery during
migrations seasons. Blue jays, goldfinches and an occasional white-breasted
nuthatch have also appeared.
Today, as the snowflakes
fall, there seem to be fewer birds in evidence, except for one mourning dove
pecking at some birdseed weÕve thrown out on the driveway. When the snow falls,
do the birds hunch over in protected spots to wait it out? (No, later in the
day, with the snow falling, cardinals and sparrows were feeding voraciously in
the driveway.) ThereÕs only one squirrel now at the base of the oak tree. Maybe
they are retreating somewhere to wait out the storm with their bushy tails over
their heads.
In spite of the cold, our
cat Kato is out in the unheated breezeway, ignoring my occasional calls to come
into the warm kitchen. He likes to sit crouched by a crack under the door where
he can apparently see or hear or smell the birds that sometimes fly into the
carport.
Kato is a fairly new cat in
our household. One of our cats died recently, but weÕve acquired a couple of
new ones. We had Cookie for about 17 years, and it was sad when he died. He was
a cute, little black-and-white cat, very small for a tom. He had a fascination
with water. He would stare at water going down the drain in our basement floor,
and would get very excited watching the bathtub fill up. Our other cats would
bully him to some extent because he was so small, and before we started keeping
all our cats indoors, he would go to a neighborÕs house and sleep under her
evergreen shrubbery for a few hours on summer afternoons — probably just
to get some peace and quiet. When he died, we had our own brief Òfuneral,Ó as
we usually do when a pet dies, and buried him in the back yard.
Now we have Kato and his
sister, Sadie (Jazz fans will think of the jazz tune ÒSister SadieÓ), and they
make up to some extent for the loss of Cookie. They are both lively and active.
Kato canÕt wait to get out in the breezeway to watch the birds in the morning.
HeÕs so excited, heÕs literally jumping up and down by the door. And there are
other times when, running around the house, heÕs so energetic he prances like a
gazelle.
Both Kato and Sadie were
strays born in a crawlspace under an apartment building. Both are just ordinary
alleycats, but Kato is an attractive orange-brown color, while Sadie is more of
a coffee-with-cream brown. She is smaller and somewhat quieter than her
brother; both were half wild at first but are gradually becoming more-friendly
Òlap-cats.Ó
Of course it is arguable
that people who adopt stray cats, and have funerals for them when they die, are
being foolish, and thatÕs probably true. We are mostly all foolish in one way
or another. But I canÕt help thinking of the local ÒChristian conservativeÓ
writer of letters to the editor who, a few years ago, wrote in saying people
were too concerned with their pets — who, after all, didnÕt have souls
like humans — and not concerned enough about true religion (as he defined
it). There was a wonderful tide of letters in response from pet-owners telling
him, in effect, that he was an ignoramus. So weÕre all fools at times —
some bigger than others.
Now, as I look out the
window, the snow has stopped, though I seem to remember the weatherman saying
there will be more this afternoon. Out around our oak tree I see a blue jay and
a cardinal, and the fox squirrels have been joined by one black squirrel. WeÕve
been seeing the black squirrels in our yard occasionally for the last year or
so. According to what IÕve read, they are a color variation of the species
called Ògray squirrel.Ó (IÕve also seen the ordinary gray form of the gray
squirrel species in our yard, though only rarely, and not recently.) The black
squirrels (or gray squirrels) are smaller than the more plentiful fox squirrels
and more acrobatic when jumping around in the tree branches.
Every fall for the last few
years I have been going out in the country and collecting corn left after the
farmers have finished their harvest. (One of my country cousins tells me IÕm
doing them a favor, since fewer corn plants will be coming up next year if they
plant soy beans in the same field.) Putting out lots of corn seems to keep the
squirrels from raiding the bird feeder quite as much, though they are really
attracted to those sunflower seeds.
We seem to think about
animals a lot during the winter, including the Holiday season. (WeÕve also had
a young possum coming around, and my wife puts out bread and even a little cat
food for it sometimes.) I usually take part in a Christmas Bird Count every
year around this time. The idea of this is to see how many different species of
birds the group can find in a 15-mile diameter circle in one winter day. (Later
note: The count was held on December 17th in Knox County this year, and we found
67 species for the day. My most interesting find was a pileated woodpecker in
Green Oaks, the Knox College property near Oak Run.)
Of course, animals are
popular symbols during this season. There are the animals in the Christian
manger scene representing the birth of Jesus. And then there are popular animal
symbols like Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer (and the Budweiser Clydesdales)
associated with the Holiday season. What is it about animals, that we
associated them with this season?...
ItÕs now the middle of the
afternoon. The snow has started again and is falling steadily. IÕve just
returned from some errands, and the streets are getting slippery. I put out
some more corn for the squirrels and birdseed for the birds. A few cardinals
and starlings were feeding rapidly, and Kato is watching them from his spot by
the breezeway. I bring Kato in, and the next time I look, the birds are gone
from the driveway, though three mourning doves are eating corn left by the
squirrels around the oak tree. Except for Kato, our cats are curled up
sleeping.
Later, as darkness
descends, the snow finally ends and the Holiday lights shine brightly. ItÕs a
time when we hope Òall creatures great and smallÓ are well-fed and protected
from the winter cold. We say the Holiday season is a Òseason for children.Ó
What we really mean is that it is a season for child-like innocence and wonder.
Maybe animals, the wild kind and our domestic animals and pets, remind us of
that innocence and simplicity that, if we are lucky, we can sometimes recapture
this time of year. Happy Holidays.