Movements in the rain!

I looked out into our lawn facing the cottage, while it was raining yesterday afternoon. The poor visibility beyond the garden in the mid- afternoon was striking. 

I noticed a pond heron arriving and moving about in the lawn. It was not searching for any food from the ground. It moved to the shade under a tree and stayed for a short while. 

With the arrival of a cattle egret, it flew away.

The cattle egret stayed for a while moving about in the lawn. I wondered what would have been, its purpose of this visit in heavy rain! With its plumage fully wet, it flew short distance between trees and paused. It disappeared from the garden in a short time.  

The afternoon rain was heavy and lasted for over two hours. When there was a respite, I moved out in the garden to look for birds in the trees hiding in shelters. I could not locate any bird in the usual perches.

The wet land birds adapt to rain and flooded grounds. The other birds are not always secure in heavy rain. 

The ability to fly to safety is their strength!

A mother in an interview to a news reporter said, 'I have no safe place to hide when my husband comes home drunk and physically assaults me' A school going teenage girl, in another interview mentioned that she does not have another route to walk to school, except in front of few shops in the street. She gets bullied almost every day. An officer in a conversation mentioned about the corrupt practices in his office. He found the ambience suffocating. A teacher found some children sleeping during the class in the morning hours, due to watching TV late into the night. 

As I read these in the newspaper, I was disturbed. Each of them was bound by a non-negotiable situation, leading to a disturbing experience. 

I read another news item of how a priest drives an ambulance to take patients to hospitals.  He takes care of a free residential service that is offered to patients taking treatment at the Regional Cancer Centre. His response to multiple difficulties, he encountered, was, 'each of us can do something small to make others feel better'!

I saw a photo of a bird shelter in the backyard of a house, where birds can come to find food. 

In a world of needs, there are opportunities to do something, small enough, to make a difference! 

To do something small as an act of caring is possible! 

That was a message to me!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)