Helping Our Fellow Creatures

"Oh, my God, my God, my God," I cried, just seconds after saying a bright "hello" to the black bird that landed on the neighbor's trellis, which was the day before yesterday.

"What? What?" said the husband, looking up from washing dishes.

The other neighbor's fat grey cat was walking along the top of the fence, firmly grasping a torn-up blackbird in its mouth. The black bird that I had seen was swooping at its head. The fat cat did not care.

God, how I dislike that neighbor's cat.

"I wish she'd keep that cat in the house where it belongs," growled the husband. "Or, just get rid of it."

The husband dislikes the cat, too. He's constantly picking up its poop off the front lawn. The mama picks up its poop in the back yard, but unlike the husband, she throws the poop over the fence so the neighbor can pick up after her cat. The mama feels sorry for the cat.  The mama thinks the cat kills birds because the neighbor doesn't feed it. The cat is too fat to be nourished by only consuming birds.

Last night, the mama told me that she saw a dead sparrow in the backyard. The mama said she would bury it today. (Maybe that cat killed it. Or, not.)

Seeing a cat with its prey in its mouth shouldn't make me gasp. Hearing about a dead bird in the bird shouldn't make me sad. But it does, and it does.

And, yes, I understand it is all part of the circle of life.

But, what about those poor pelicans and other creatures coated in oil or dying from the oil in the Gulf of Mexico? Is what happening to them also an example of the natural state of being?  No doubt, you've seen them on the news. If you haven't, do yourself a favor and go look one up. Here, I'll even start you off with this link.  If you do it now, please come back so you can read about something you can do to help the animals in the Gulf. That is, if you're interested.

Craft Hope  is a community of folks who make things to help others. A few days ago it started Project 8 to collect hand towels that Gulf  responders can use to clean oil off the animals. The whole idea is to knit, crochet, or sew the towels. And, sewing can be as easy as cutting up tee-shirts or old bedsheets and sewing up the edges. Which is good because that's my skill level.

Want to know more about Project 8? Click over to this link.  They do have a deadline for the towels: It's July 8.

As for the human fat cats that let their greediness allow this to happen, what should we do about them?