My Little Chickadee

Of all the birds, I'm guessing this is my favorite, not only because it's so tiny and "constantly active" (ha) but because it has so many terms of endearment. Bill used to call me "My Little Chickadee" frequently while we were married. Often with Donica I'll ask, "You okay, Miss Chickadee?"

Speaking of the Dutch (last post), I loved this article today on a team of Dutch scientists testing a European relative of the black-capped chickadee and finding that "some birds are shy and others are bold, broad personality differences that have a genetic foundation. This finding doesn't erode the basic differences between Homo sapiens and Poecile atricapillus (the black-capped chickadee). But it substantially enlarges the similarities."

The article goes on to say that "Humans do not like to think of themselves as animals. Nor do they like to think that their behavior may have genetic or evolutionary roots. But the richer perspective - morally and intellectually - lies in examining and coming to terms with the kinship of all life. There's a certain tragic isolation in believing that humans stand apart in every way from the creatures that surround them, that the rest of creation was shaped exclusively for our use. The real fruit of that perspective is, in fact, tragic isolation on an earth that has been eroded by our moral assumptions. Science has something much wiser to tell us about who we are. So do the birds around us." (emphasis mine)

I like that! Sounds so Native-American.

BTW, some of my posts are long, drawn-out, thought-through-the-night affairs (even if you can't tell!). Others, like this one, come in the blink of an eye when I see something that grabs me. Sometimes I hesitate with the latter, as though it weren't as real or valid, but today's Cainer for Gemini said: "Spontaneity is an expression of creativity. Creativity, in turn, is an expression of intuition."

I like that, too!