Who Asked the Trees

Imagine (sorry John, I'm sure you won't mind)....  Imagine that before we planted trees as noise breaks, we considered whether or not it seemed like the best thing for the trees.  Imagine that before we planted that lovely flowering plant in our yards, we would find out for sure whether it was best for every other living thing in the area--our yard and beyond--to put that plant there.  What if we wanted to know these things?  What if we gave some energy and time to finding the answers to these concerns?

What if we knew, really knew who else lived in our neighborhoods...and I don't mean the people who live in that house next door or the one up the street?

I just moved into a new-to-me neighborhood last Fall; so this is my first Spring in this area.  I had been putting seeds in the bird feeder but ran out and haven't gone to the bother to get any more.  Even so, I've been noticing the birds that keep frequenting the environs around the house.  I'm not a bird watcher, per se, so that's not the kind of intent I'm bringing to this.  I've just been curious as to whose neighborhood I'm living in.

I had seen a flicker in the yard on quite a few days and heard him pecking on near by chimneys recently.  Then a couple of days ago I saw him with another flicker... mates I assume.  There's a significant flock to starlings who light for a time in one of the few tall trees in the neighborhood.  Then there's the families of black-capped chickadees, the town sparrows, and assorted finches (more) that flit through the trees and shrubs, chattering and singing...and now the robins whose song greets me morning and evening.

I'm finding that the more I'm willing to question the quiet (sometimes almost silent) assumptions I make about life, and humanity in particular, the more I simply notice the others who share the spaces I live in and move through.  More and more often I don't seem to have to remind myself not to be sidetracked by the overwhelming humanness that surrounds me most of the time.

Imagine that this is what we did, that this is what we taught our children, that this is what we expected, kindly but firmly of each other--always and everywhere knowing where we are, knowing the value of place more, much more than the illusory value of time.