Protective

We were sitting outside in the patio with Ozzie and our Aztec Mochas this morning and this scrub jay was hopping around,  jumping up and down, running back and forth and squawking non-stop at us. We tried moving to a different table but noting changed. I thought that it must have a nest nearby  but  it gave no sign of where it might be. Eventually, someone came out and told us that it was Ozzie that was upsetting her. As we sat and watched, a bigger bird flew out of a nearby bush, flew back and forth a couple of times and then flew off into a tall tree. I could almost imagine Mr. Jay saying, "The kids are asleep. You keep distracting the dog while I go get a beer…."

We took pity on poor Mrs Jay, finished up our coffee and left, but not before I peered into the bush and found the the nest. It was too high for me to look into without climbing on a chair, which seemed a bit intrusive, even though OilMan had taken Ozzie off and Mrs Jay immediately stopped squeaking and hopped into her nest.

I have been taking the Sunday New York Times to Chris, the homeless man who stands outside The Flying Goat in all weathers. He has been moved from the spot next to the news stand to a place by the railroad tracks because someone who owns a nearby business complained. Chris told me that nobody who actually works in any of the businesses has ever complained, and I have always found him to be very respectful, but the police said he was blocking the sidewalk. They recommended that he move around more often and get put his stuff behind a parked car. 

He told me that the biggest mistake he made was when he turned down some sort of permanent housing. Now there is a waiting list. I suggested that since, by his own reckoning, he had been off drugs for ten years and hadn't had a drink in two, 'he get himself on the waiting list as soon as possible. He rather sadly agreed….

What a sad state of affairs when the best that can be done to help someone like Chris is to recommend that he get rid of the few shopping bags that contain everything he owns in the world so that he can be more invisible. More evidence of the growing wealth of the 1% and the widening gap between them and the rest of us….

The grandkids are here for a slumber party. I'll catch up with everybody after the weekend.