My encounter with Angels.

Maybe at a time when children stood a good chance of dying before the age of five, adults regarding 40 as old age, women dying in childbirth etc the thought of miraculous beings being there for us to help in some way were a comfort? The human mind has invented plenty of things to protect us from being the only [to my knowledge] creatures on the planet to live on a daily basis with the awareness of their own mortality. Also the survival instincts that we probably still have from primevil times have been channelled in different directions? When we've been through a dificult period of our lives is there not a day when we see something that makes us realise that the healing process has begun, even if it's a beautiful sunset or a bird collecting straw to make a nest? What we 'see' is only an interpretation of what our brains thinks we are seeing. There have been periods of time when people saw or didn't see different things; angels, fairies,ghosts, ufo's, Lord Lucan...Wally.....[I'm procrastinating again].

Well said, Crimson.

Hear hear!

crimson that's a sensible explanation for some of the thoughts and fantasies we have to try and make sense of the human condition.

You are lucky still to have sparrows round there Bagitha. Like angels, they are getting to be a rarity down here.

Yes, it is nice to have sparrows. When we first came there were none to be seen in our garden and that continued for four years. Now it seems that the healthy population down the hill is expanding and some of them have moved up here for a bit of peace and quiet to make new homes (or squat in existing ones) for the last three years. It's very encouraging on the sparrow front, but I feel sorry for the house martins. Sparrows are really good squatters and refuse to shift!

So, it's not a case of "still" having sparrows. We have an immigrant population.

These days we remark upon a sparrow in the garden in the same way as we would upon a red-backed shrike!

Funny you should say that, because I've only recently noticed sparrows in my garden, but not sure if they're house sparrows or hedge sparrows [I've always thought the male house sparrow is a particularly handsome bird, in a brown'ish sort of way]. Sparrows being the only birds I remember seeing when I was a child growing up in the centre of Birmingham. Whilst driving down a country lane the other day I was mesmerised by a group of either rooks or crows just flying around in a circle quite close to the ground; something I'd never seen before.

Are they legal immigrants, Bagitha? If not, you should round them up and ship them back down South!

I don't think you can necessarily dismiss all this stuff out of hand.

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio".... (or something like that)

Dismiss what stuff, jings?

Angels and stuff.

Not sparrows!

Oh God. I am on the right thread aren't I?!

Ah!

No, you can't dismiss sparrows, thank goodness.

I've had a 100% success rate at dismissing angels though. Hadn't thought about them for years (did I ever?) before this thread came up.

No. I don't think I have. But I might buy the book NannaAnna mentioned.

imjingl...Yes, do that Jings. Whilst your reading it, I may enjoy the peace and quiet. The willow wabler is having a tuneful trill. Bird song is very theraputic

Yes, isn't it SOOP.

Do you mind having your name shouted?

imjingl ?

Our big and wild Japonica houses a very noisy bunch of Sparrows. Sometimes they really do have some spats.

Are you implying that I'm losing my hearing? Or what...?

Butter Japonica is beautiful. The bees are hummin' loudly as they visit...

On many forums, typing in capitals is considered to be SHOUTING.

Don't worry about it though. We all need to assert ourselves sometimes.

imjingl Ooh...I appear to have done something silly. Thanks for putting me right. I hadn't heard that one before. No more capitals from hereon. Live and learn...eh!