Sparrow and Secrets

I found this little male house sparrow limping in my backyard yesterday. He appeared stunned. Perhaps he flew into a window or something. I picked him up and put him in our old bird cage so he could rest. He was so tiny and light; it was like holding air. I gave him food and water and left him alone for an hour.

When I came back, he looked better. I took the top off the cage to see if he was recovered enough to fly. I kept my distance and watched over him. After twenty minutes or so he took off for the trees.

I read something wonderful in the newspaper yesterday. It is called secret fore-edge painting. After reading about it, I want to do it to all of my favorite books. Wouldn't it be fun? I like secret things. It is fun to leave messages for people to find: a tiny envelope stuck in a tree hollow with a feather inside, a ribbon-tied scroll in a colored-glass bottle, a Victorian-folded note left on a window ledge. My children and I used to enjoy letterboxing, which is an outdoor mystery that ends in discovering a lovely secret.

I love secrets, and mysteries, and books, and small wild things. ♥