What Sparrows are Thankful For

Often I will look out my back yard and find flocks of sparrows in my yard.  These little birds are hard to see as they are camouflaged so well, but all the little hopping and darting motions among the grass alert me to their presence.  What attracts all these birds to the Red House?

Crabgrass.

I really hate crabgrass, but I also have a pretty laissez-faire attitude towards my backyard lawn.  Thus I have a fair amount of crabgrass and other weeds, to the delight of the sparrows and other wildlife. These offending plants that we try to get rid of are probably one of the things that the sparrows are most thankful for this Thanksgiving holiday.

Can you see the camouflaged sparrow?

Another thing that I hate in my garden are sweet gum balls.  These spiky fruit fall into my yard from the sweet gum tree in the neighboring lot and are a mess to clean up.  I have nearly turned my ankle slipping on sweet gum balls.  And you surely don't want to go bare-foot anywhere around them.  But guess what else the little birds in my yard are thankful for?

The seeds in sweet gum balls a food source of goldfinches, white-throated sparrows, and many other birds and animals.

Today is Thanksgiving.  I have much to be thankful for - abundant food, clothes, shelter, a loving family.  I often take many of these basics for granted.  There are so many who would be so thankful to have these basic needs met, and I think it is important for us to help those who are in need.

This Thanksgiving holiday there are also many little things to help others around us that one might not even think to notice.  Many are hungry for kindness, a listening ear, someone to notice and care.  What someone nearby might be most thankful for could be a kind word, or the holding back of an angry one.  Or maybe going out of one's way to help do the jobs that nobody wants to do.  What might be a small, but challenging or even slightly unpleasant effort for you might be what someone could be most thankful for this holiday.

weed seeds

In the end, tolerating crabgrass and sweet gum balls in the garden is unpleasant, but they are what the sparrows appreciate the most.