An Unexpected Guest

Blue Jay fledgling

Two nights before my surgery, an unexpected guest arrived, and stayed for the day.  If you’ve kept up with me on FaceBook or in this blog, you probably know what a bird lover I am.  Well, a Blue Jay fledgling decided to use our garage as cover from the thunderstorm. He could barely fly so we fashioned a nest out of one of our empty boxes.  It was fortunate he did not get run over as he had been hiding underneath the car.  From the quizzical looks, he has not experienced a storm before this one.  This is the first rain we have had in weeks so it was a welcome relief.

A couple of fledglings

His lack of fear and willingness to let Elizabeth pick him up, hold him, pet him, and play with him was uncanny.  He loved being pet and it nearly put him to sleep.  It was as though he knew I wanted to take pictures and needed this time of relaxation, as he posed and sat very still for the camera in spite of multiple flashes and retakes.  Elizabeth wanted to keep him as a pet, but of course that would not only be illegal but difficult to manage.  After about an hour of fun, we released him with the hopes he would find his way home.  He didn’t really want to leave, as evidenced by the super strong grip he had on Elizabeth’s fingers, but eventually he hopped off and in search of his home.  And yes, she did wash her hands thoroughly with antibacterial soap after this event, as well as her jeans.

Are you my mother?

It was a beautiful night.