A Flock is a Family
I apologize to my all backyard friends for my not having
posted for a while. Sometimes life demands our attention in one direction or
another, as happened with me. My sister was battling a rare illness that took
too many years to diagnose and it finally took its toll. These past several
months she was in and out of the hospital, then in a Hospice facility and she
recently passed away. As you can imagine, my thoughts were not focused on my
blog.
Then I saw this tree. There were so many birds on it. The
birds were grackles, a species that travels in flocks, sort of like traveling
with a large family. It made me think about the concept of family. There are
many individuals connected to each other. Sometimes the connection works,
sometimes not but when it does, it is a joy.
Family members can provide support and caring, a sense of belonging and
sharing.
Grackles can be aggressive with each other at times, like
siblings, but they can also join with other birds like red-winged blackbirds and
starlings to increase their family connection. We can choose friends to be part
of our family, too. It is as much a concept as a definition. I was lucky to
have a great sister as both a relative and a friend.
Info about grackles:
A discussion about what “family” means:
http://family.lovetoknow.com/about-family-values/meaning-family
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