Today I am just very sad.

[beachmom]

Amid all of the madness in this world -- the violent Jihadi extremists, the BushCo warmongering and stunning abuses of power, a mad Iranian president calling for the destruction of Israel so reminiscent of Adolph Hitler's words, the media's continued scorn of Democrats in general and John Kerry in particular, many Americans' complacency in what is being done in their name, the skyrocketing price of oil, the global warming our government is doing nothing about, the continued chaos in Iraq killing our soldiers and ruining the Iraqi people's lives. Well, last week a little miracle had happened high on the trellis of my back porch. A Robin had built a sturdy, incredible nest, had laid 4 eggs, and as I checked on her every day, she was there, guarding and keeping warm her eggs that would soon become little chicks. My 5 year old daughter had noticed the nest, and we were all so excited for the day when the eggs would hatch. I was careful to warn them not to climb up and touch the eggs, or the mother bird wouldn't protect them. And to add to our joy, the eggs were a bright blue/green in the spirit of Easter.

Well, this morning I went to check on the nest, and saw it askew. As I came closer, I saw broken eggs on my porch and the dead forms of chicks. One egg remained in the nest, but most likely it has or will die, since the mother bird is nowhere to be found. I know who the culprit is -- my next door wingnut neighbor's cat, of course. This murdering feline didn't even eat the chicks; just went in for the kill for the fun of it. I immediately started weeping, not even knowing why I found it so upsetting, for this is what often happens in nature.

But you know, within all of the chaos that Man has created, there was this oasis on my back porch. A little Garden of Eden where life would spring, not caring about the roaring fighter planes that pass above us. As I used paper towels to put those dead and discarded chicks in a garbage bag, I wept for the ruthlessness of this world. God wouldn't even let me have this one miracle. That had to be taken away, too . . .

[TayTay]

1. Oh, I'm so sorry. I understand.

We all look for these small things to hang onto when the world seems to be falling apart. They are the signs that human trouble is temporary and the world goes on. I'm sorry this happened. I'm sorry you have to explain it to your little girl. Sigh!

:hug: for you

:hug: for your daughter

[ProSense]

2. That's sad!

With or without the worst president in history screwing up the world, it's sad. So, :hug:

[whometense]

3. It's really funny,

though not in the haha way, how the miserable situation in this country makes you look for something other to keep you going.

I've become addicted to http://cuteoverload.com/.

I can feel my blood pressure dropping while I'm looking at the pictures.



I leave you with the words of my own daughter: "Cats are evil." ;-)

[rox63]

4. Except for my cats

They are too cute to be evil.

[whometense]

5. Well, I actually like cats,

but my daughter really does think they're evil. :D

This one's for you, Rox (and your kitties too):

[Island Blue]

6. Oh Beachmom I'm so sorry!

I have stay cat that hangs around in my yard (not feral, just stay) and late yesterday afternoon I was sitting at my computer and looked out my window and saw a dead female cardinal lying on the ground, victim of the damn cat. I was so totally heart broken thinking that this poor bird was probably in the process of getting ready to lay eggs and that there was a male cardinal somewhere looking for his mate. (I was also in tears.)

This morning I called our local no-kill shelter to see what I could do about this cat, but I had to leave a message. This isn't the first bird that this cat has killed. It has also killed a squirrel (you don't want to know about that one) and on Sunday I was sitting here and saw it "playing" with a snake which I was able to rescue. I'm so tender hearted it kills me every time something like this happens.

:hug: to you and your daughter, I'm so sorry this happened.

BTW, I love cats. I have one who stays indoors 24/7/365. She is totally happy and safe. If you have a cat PLEASE keep it indoors!

[wisteria]

7. So sad, but don't blame the kitty, it is just instinct.It is the hunter

in them. I say this because I just lost one of my little hunters' yesterday and until I placed him in a more controlled environment and kept a close eye on him he was quite the little hunter. He was my little Southern guy, my little Romeo who adopted us when we lived in South Carolina fifteen years ago. Our home there had plenty of grounds and woods for Teiger to stalk and pounce in. Every time he caught and killed a bird, squirrel, or frog I was devastated. He was so bad with the Blue Jays that he was actually pecked on the head by an angry male bird. Teiger died at home and one of the last things he did before he died was to move his paws and make a funny little chirping sound like he had always done in the past when he went hunting and had found something to stalk.
It is your neighbors fault that her cat attacked the nest. She has an obligation as a pet owner to control her pet's actions, that includes making sure her kitty is not free to just roam the neighborhood and cause harm to others and even to himself.

[beachmom]

8. Thanks, guys -- I'm better now and my daughter took it in stride

The only thing disturbing was how my daughter immediately spoke of a sort of revenge on the cat (she has one friend who's father is in the Special Forces and I think has heard things about "killing bad guys") -- and I set her straight immediately that it wasn't the cat's fault, and he/she shouldn't be punished in any way. The cat was just . . . being a cat. It's really the neighbor's fault for letting it be outdoors. It doesn't help that my neighbor is a total right wing zealot, who I've noticed that she's avoided me since I put a Kerry bumper sticker on after the Hurricane Katrina debacle.

To all of you who love cats, I'm not knocking them, just their GOP-loving neighbors!

[_dynamicdems]

9. That is sad and it symbolic of what is going on in our country and our

world. We do have to keep our heads and our spirits up though. We have a very strong advocate fighting for us. If Senator Kerry doesn't give up, neither can we.

I'm sorry about your nest of little birds that didn't get a chance to fly. Please think of all the other birds that do. Think of the eagle and how no nasty kitty cat would dare match talons with the symbol of our still-great country. The eagle will avenge the smaller birds who fall prey to the claws of small predators. Symbolism is everywhere.

Remember always: we have an eagle on our side.

[beachmom]

11. Thanks for those inspiring words, DD

I did some nice things for myself yesterday like exercising and journaling what was bringing me down. That and a good night's sleep can do wonders. My melancholy of yesterday was also apparent in my Iraq thread way down there (Please nobody kick it), where I was completely full of despair. I have made the difficult decision to stop reading the Iraqi blogs at least for a while. Their lives are utter hell, and there is NOTHING I can do about it, except have their misery and despair seep into my own life. The only thing I can do is to promote Kerry's Iraq plan, which if happens will DEFINITELY save American lives. His idea to have a summit for all the different parties is our only hope that Iraq will not destroy itself. And past that, I am only torturing myself for things for which I have no control over. (I'm feeling the Serenity Prayer may be in order now). Yes, I agree Kerry is the Eagle here, and what good news it was to read that his speech on Saturday will be on C-SPAN Sunday night. Of course, before that, I expect a full update from Kerrycrats going!

[ginnyinWI]

10. Consider putting up a platform, beachmom

That robin will come back to the same area and possibly try again. They can have more than one brood a year. I'm not a robin expert, but I think they like nests in shrubbery and trees rather than birdhouses--although maybe there are robin-houses. Anyway, I'd try to do something like that--a cat-proof nesting area on a pole that kitties can't climb out away from other structures.

[beachmom]

12. I think there are other nests around

I will look around and see if we can find another nest of eggs. Really the nest on my porch was not a good place, as it was very easy for the cat to get to. I live in a subdivision utopialand (y'all know what I mean) so it's not a big yard with big trees; that's probably why this nest was so cool and such a surprise. I am nearly over my grief over the lost chicks. Thanks for the suggestion, though.