Coming off of two days of high 80s weather — which seems a little too soon for the season. Yesterday, dark clouds moved in, accompanied by lots of wind and the occasional sprinkle. In spite of all that, it was almost too warm sleeping with the windows open last night.

At about two in the morning, we were awakened by what sounded like a young kitten being devoured by wolves. The sound evolved into screeches and ultimately screams. By then, everyone in the house was awake and it became clear that a bird was being attacked somewhere in the close environs.

What predator was causing this furor and panic, I don’t know, but it reminded me of the mallard hen dragged off her nest in our front yard last year — by a raccoon.

I can still see in my mind’s eye the bloody paw prints, large gobbets of blood and ultimately the final struggle documented by wings swept through her own blood on the concrete — with just a few feathers to mark the end.

Nature can be cruel.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 at 06:05 and is filed under General Musings, Nature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.