The Window Jewelry(Herm Sherwood-Sitts) The Window Jewelry
By Herm Sherwood-Sitts

Many years ago, my wife hung what we call window jewelry on our big picture window that looks out into our back yard. The purpose of the jewelry was to help stop birds from flying into the window. It consists of a few chains with little mirrors and gems. For the most part it worked well. Once in a while we would find a bird stunned or dead on our back deck.

We were watching TV the other day, when my wife noticed our cat (Lexi) jumping up trying to catch something at the top of the window. She was going crazy!

I went to the window to see what all of the commotion was about and could see a bird tail and some wings fluttering. I slipped on some shoes and proceeded out onto the snowy deck. There on the wire that holds the window jewelry was a little gray Tufted Titmouse. It looked somewhat stunned as I put my index finger to his chest. Like a trained Budgie he stepped one foot onto my finger. The other foot he was not so sure of, so I gently unwrapped his little toes and he stepped completely on my finger. By now Odie, our other cat, had joined Lexi and both were stretched out up against the window checking out the little bird. As I held the little Titmouse for a few minutes he tipped his head and looked at me. What a beautiful little creature he was. For a few minutes all of the atrocities of the world left my thoughts. It was like this is what I needed. I stroked his head and back gently with my finger and it seemed to soothe him. After a while I decided to set him on a pair of my gloves on the back porch table. I didn’t want Bully, our local feral cat, to have him for lunch. As I walked toward the table the little Titmouse took flight and was on his way. I wonder if it tells his friends a Giant held me today. They will probably tell him, “Yeah Right, little grey Tufted Titmouse.”

---