Window views

I recently rearranged my bedroom. When winter approaches I do not have the windows open as much and my bedroom is cozy but at the same time I sometimes feel too closed in. The end result of moving things around is, that as I lie in bed now I have a wonderful view outside my window. Not far from the window is a large maple tree. The leaves are gone from the tree now and so I have a wonderful view of sunrises, cloud formations and the moon at night. But I also have a wonderful view of the wildlife that use this tree for their comings and goings.
This morning, even before I saw him, I heard the familiar tap, tap, tap, of a woodpecker. And then I saw him. A beautiful red bellied woodpecker, with the classic red head and zebra stripped wings.
I slipped out of bed to get my binoculars so I could get a closer view of him.
I thought it would be strange if he were hunting bugs in the colder weather.

I watched his beak banging into the tree bark again and again in rapid sucession and wondered how does his brain handle this? And the first thing that came to mind was shaken baby syndrome. What was happening to that tiny bird's brain? Certainly it must be terribly shaken by the constant tapping?
I realized everything in nature is created in such a way to meet its needs. Still, I am thinking if nothing else this little bird should have a terrible headache or a stiff neck by days end.

He does not stay long in the tree before he flies off. But then he is back again tapping on the tree. It was only after watching this feathered friend for about half an hour that I was able to see that he was methodically bringing sunflower seeds from the feeder on my back deck and he was lodging them in the bark. Once lodged he was breaking them open with his beak. Breakfast is served!! After a bit he began bringing more seeds and lodging them in the crook of a branch. One after another he put them in the same place without eating them. I got the feeling he did not trust that there was going to be an endless supply at the feeder and he was stockpiling his own. My hope is that Mr. Squirel does not find the stash and have his own breakfast by benefit of the woodpecker.

Just goes to show, that all of us, even down to the woodpecker know that life rarely stays the same and that it would behove us to make some preparations for a possible lack in our futures. Our enconomy today is certainly proof of that.

The maple tree is most likely going to withstand the rigors of life's storms. Hopefully the woodpecker will survive the neighborhood cat, and I will be able to enjoy many more mornings of hearing his busy tapping as he has his morning treats.

Sometimes a very small change in your life can bring huge blessings. I am thinking rearranging the bedroom will prove to be a great blessing to me. Hope all of you find ways to make small changes that reap you huge blessings.