It is always so good to be here!  Today is the final day that my kids and I are getting all of our county fair projects done--can you say a prayer or two for us?  It's a bit crazy around here!

I hope you enjoyed our bird story.  The sweet little guy/gal has flown away, with prayers that it has gone with it's own kind and is being a bird at last.  I read quite a bit about imprinting, and was worried-but the Lord gently reminded me that He cares for that little bird.

A few days back, I got out a mirror and showed "Sherwood" that he was indeed a bird, and not a human.  It was so funny how he seemed to really see himself!  He cocked his head from side to side, studying what he was seeing.  Then Tuesday morning, when I went out and sat down in my favorite spot outside to read, he appeared --actually, he swooped in and landed on my lap.  After a few minutes I looked away, and back down, and he had given me the gift of a beetle, undigested.  (How, um, lovely!)  I got up to go clean up a little spot on my dress and set him up in the tree.  When I came back out he was gone.  We haven't seen him since, but are sure he is off doing what birds do.

I tried so hard to get advice from experts, but to no avail.  Several friends were very upset with me for even doing anything to help the little guy.  I know, there are pros and cons.  First, it is illegal to keep wild birds---but we never had him in a cage or penned up.  He enjoyed sleeping in our greenhouse at night, and when he was really tiny, he was in a box.  The kids dug up every earthworm from here to China and he had a very well rounded diet of those, plus mealworms, and he learned to find his own food rather quickly!  There are lots of sour cherry trees bearing right now in our neighborhood and he found those too, and feasted with his own kind.

After searching online for what to do with him, I found so many different opinions.  Since he was already removed from his parents care we decided to step in.  My kids learned so much, and just loved that little guy!  I had a time of uncertainty, but experience won out.  This is a memory they will always cherish!

If you haven't ever read Jean Craighead George's book, "A Tarantula in My Purse," check it out.  If the name scares you, just read the chapter called "The Robin in the Teacup."  You will be blessed!

Have a great day!

Nancy