The grape jelly is ready for Orioles to arrive. Hummingbird feeders are full and the finch food is in a hanging bag specially designed. Finches are beautiful; Zebra finches are fascinating. One book says the male always takes work with him when he sits on the nest.

Our daughter had a couple of finches. The primary job of a finch is to produce more. Her finches got right on that and a baby was hatched. Weeks later, the baby’s feathers began to disappear. First its wings were bare and then torso. Debi called a finch expert who told her the birds build nests with whatever materials are available. If the last brood of kids are still in the cage and there is no other material, the parents will start stripping the young of their feathers to build a nest for the next brood.

If the hunkering in lasts many months, the isolation, self-focusing and boredom puts us at risk of the beak of someone close to you. Due to this pandemic, domestic abuse is on the rise worldwide. Check your beak regularly. Keep track of your feathers. Or as Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 4:32-5:1, the way to defang the isolation :

Be kind
Be compassionate
Be Forgiving
Be Imitators of God

Former Iowa Senator Tom Harkin told the story about a man following a truck hauling pigs. The tailgate opened and one pig fell out. The car driver picked up the stunned pig, put it in the front seat and chased the truck to return the pig. After high speed miles, the pig rescuer was stopped by a highway patrolman.
“What are you doing? You were 40 miles over the speed limit.”
“I picked up this pig and I’m trying to catch the truck that lost it.”
The patrolman told the driver what he was doing was commendable, but he could not put other people at risk.
“What am I supposed to do with this pig?
“I suggest you take it to a zoo.”
The man thought about it and decided, given the circumstances, the zoo was the best thing to do.
Two weeks later, the patrolman pulled up to the man at a stoplight. Sitting on the front passenger seat was the pig—this time with a ballcap tied to its head.
“Hey,” the cop said, “Aren’t you the fellow who picked up that pig on the highway? I thought you were going to take it to the zoo.”
“I did. We had such a good time I decided this week I’d take him to a baseball game.”

Since going to the zoo is out, and with no baseball games to attend we have been asking each other, “What will we do tomorrow?”

Well, I’ve decided to talk to you. Carole is cleaning her closet, baking cookies and taking notes on all things pertinent to Easter, Passover and deciphering what God is saying to us.

May the Lord bless and keep you

(c)2020 D. Dean Benton