Working Together

Squirrel at base of tree

“The love for ALL living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.”  – Charles Darwin

Just this week I heard a great story about squirrels and birds working together to help each other.  I went on the hunt around where I live to get some photos of squirrels and birds, and they cooperated with me!

bird at top of tree

Yes, there really is a bird at the top of this tree. If you magnify the photo, you’ll see it.

The following is the story on NPR about the squirrels and the birds that can show us humans that it is possible for us work more together! It is on the website: npr.org. The story is called: “Squirrels Mimic Bird Alarms to Foil the Enemy”; it aired Thursday September 3, 2015.

Then while I continued walking around where I live, I saw some hawks circling. Then I heard some birds chirping insistently. I’m not sure they were making “alarm” noises  because the hawks were flying quite high. A hawk is located on the right side of the photo.

Hawk flying

In the nearby tree where the birds were chirping, at the base of the tree, there was another squirrel that I made eye contact with me.

birds chirping in tree

I could hear the birds, but I had difficulty catching them in a photo. Here is the smiling face of the squirrel.

Squirrel clinging to tree with chirping birds

Even though I was unable to actually detect the squirrels and birds working together as described in the NPR story, I had a joyous time communing with the birds and squirrels in nature. I feel more connected with both animals after spending an hour or two watching and listening to them. In the past I have enjoyed several birding walks. However, now I have been learning a deeper love and greater respect for ALL animals’ wisdom. Now I enjoy to sending them a loving vibe every time I encounter them!

Today a friend shared another animal story with me. Her grown daughter’s dog died about 2 1/2 months ago. While her dog was alive he was always friendly with the squirrels and would chase and play in her backyard with those squirrels. A while after they buried the dog, my friend noticed something had begun to grow on the dog’s grave. Recently when these somethings bloomed, my friend and her daughter discovered they were small sunflowers. The squirrels had left some sunflower seeds on the dog’s grave, and those seeds had germinated and then bloomed. This story warmed my heart.

“EVERY animal knows more than you do.”   – Nez Perce native people