Last night while eating dinner Libby looked out the window and saw a relatively large brown ruffled mass in the lawn. From the dining room table it looked like it was a dead hawk. After dinner the kids went with Libby outside to inspect the brown ruffled mass while I cleaned up.
Upon further inspection, it was determined that the ruffled brown mass was just a bunch of leaves that fell from the ash tree. I eventually made it outside and was working on the compost pile when the kids came running and told me that I needed to see something. When I arrived the kids found a dead baby robin in the grass. (At that point I said to Libby “Isn’t that ironic?” and the kids asked what ironic meant, but that is a whole different story)
Having the shovel already in hand I scooped up the bird and brought it to the compost pile. Prior to burying the bird the kids wanted to look at it and touch it. They found out the feathers were still soft and the beak was hard with 2 nose holes in it. After I dug the hole I put the bird in it and the kids helped to bury the bird with hand shovels. Every once in a while the kids would find an earth worm and they would throw it in with the bird to “help it decompose”.
Needless to say, the kids washed up their hands, feet, legs, arms after touching the bird and playing in the compost pile.
Reminds me of the time Violet and I were coming back from RPHS when she noticed a road-kill bird and commented: "I bet that hurt." I agreed. She then kept going on her bike. Grammy