Nature Boys

My Russell is a dyed in the wool nature boy. He has a long history and fascination with the outdoors in general, fishing and snakes in particular.

He saved his little brother from being bitten by a baby rattlesnake when he was about 12, when his family lived in the hills of Saugus. He even caught a rattle snake on a hike for a Father and Son’s when my oldest was about 2 ½, and carried the snake in one hand and my baby in the other down the mountain. Only (to make a long story short) to bring the rattler home in a burlap sack to later BBQ it and eat it ("it tastes like chicken" says he).

He enjoys sharing his love of the outdoors and his skills with his friends and family.

All of our kids have been exposed to dad’s love of nature, and they have taken up one form of it or another. Hiking, camping, fishing, surfing, and critters. Skyler enjoys fishing the most, and has a definite common love for Heavenly Father’s creatures.
Hence this past week we have had a course in the care and feeding of sparrow hawk chicks at our house. Not that the momma bird wasn’t doing a good job, she dropped a beheaded lizard, and a dead baby bird for her baby to eat. Russell and Skyler took it a step further in their quest to compete with the momma bird and bought "feeder" mice, killed them and fed them to the bird.

Notice the proud papa grin on Russell’s face as Skyler holds the baby perched on

his gloved hand.

Skyler made a night time home for the baby in a cardboard box as he did not want any cats, possums, raccoons, all of which live in our neighborhood, to snatch the baby up.
The following day, Skyler was on the phone with Dad to see if he could go by the house on his lunch hour to check on the bird, and called his brother to see if he could see the bird. When we came home that afternoon, his bird friend was sitting perched on our utility trailer, along with her little brother bird.
More feeding and more holding, protecting and urging. After a few days, the first baby was flying, and by Sunday they were both flying, even tumbling on the

neighbor’s roof fighting over food. Hey, that sounds like some kids I know!

Today our feathered friends seem to have flown the coop, independent little things…we think we can still hear their familiar cries…I think it sounds something like "thank you brother birds"……