Every year the Blue Ridge B-B-Q festival parks itself in Harmon field in Tryon for a weekend. We went the first year we were here. $10 to park, $10 to get in the park and for what? Bad music, high priced trinket hawkers, kiddie rides and mediocre BBQ. Sorry, folks, just our opinion. But they did have a fairly nice fireworks display. Of course we were in the shuttle that takes you back to the parking lot and it was raining when we saw it - but it was better than anything else we had seen there that evening.
CUT to dinner two nights ago. I hear the familiar sound of booming outside our windows at 10 pm. Ah, must be the festival fireworks. I made a mental note and determined to go park at the post office nearby to watch the next night.
And indeed, we did do that last night. But as the "works" were slow to start, we decided to walk down the road a bit to get closer to the field for a better view. Ended up in 7th Day Advent church parking lot. Rand began walking around the left side of the church, but something caught my eye on the right side. I suspected what it was and when I got close enough my suspicion was confirmed.
There, hopping about, was a goodly sized baby bird that obviously hadn't mustered it's flying abilities yet. I heard mama somewhere emitting a chirp or two. I went over and picked it up. Just as I did the fireworks display began. Poor thing. I had it gently enclosed between my two cupped palms for the entire display with the loud pops and bangs and booms and bright flashing lights. And I clucked at it and whispered to it, ssshhh ssshhhh, ssshhhh, it's all right. And it's little heart was beating about it's breast and it was trying to get free from my safe hand held hollow. But eventually it calmed down.
When it was all over I was able to hear mama chirp once again. I tried to put him in the crook of a tree from which I had seen her fly (I'm assuming it was mama for birds don't usually talk at night), but he just flopped out of it. And so I let him be. With three cats at home, taking him there seemed a foolish idea. And we watched him hop hop hop off.
I stopped by that parking lot on the way back from church this morning and happily (in one sense) did not see him. I hope he made it.
(Baby Blackbird photo submitted by Jim McGee)
