Keep Smiling

If you’re going to be in a world turned upside down by the pandemic, it’s good to live on the North Shore.

News might be unusual, but you have the usual pleasant streetscapes. And friendly neighbors—enjoyed from a safe distance. In this upside-down world an upside-down bird catches your eye. It scoots up and down the sides of trees … upside down.

Those who know birds will tell you it’s a “nuthatch.” A little gray, white and black resident, but all you know is that it’s curiously upside down. It stares at you and sees your frown as a smile. An upside-down bird living an upside-down life.

You also notice that its head is disproportionately large.

You wonder: did gravity cause this over generations of upside-down-ness? Odd thought. But these are odd times and you’d rather muse about the funny shape of a little bird in your backyard than the unfunny shape of a world in a pandemic.

So, you look at the nuthatch’s head. And think about the nutty theory you’ve hatched.

This column was adapted by Mike Lubow from his book: Wild Notes: Observations over time about birds and other fleeting things. Available on amazon.com.