Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, April 11, 2026
Yesterday morning as I headed out on a post-breakfast walk, I came out of our cul-de-sac, rounded the corner to the right, and spotted this bird pecking away at the trunk of a tree. I snatched for my phone, and took a series of rapid photos, zooming further and further in for each shot. I think this photo is the best of the bunch.
This little guy happens to be a red-breasted sapsucker, which I confirmed later not only with a large bird-book but by sending this photo to our Tuesday blogger Robert Howson. (Thanks, Robert!)
Having read Robert’s bird blogs for – what is it – decades by now, I felt satisfied to be contributing to our Daily Photo Parable blog’s growing avian collection. But I felt something else too. I wondered, Why was this bird so tranquil as it saw me standing breathtakingly close, fiddling with my phone? Usually, birds seem to regard me as an alien from outer space, and flit warily away.
This may be a bit silly, but the phrase “Next Door to Eden” popped into my mind. To the right of the tree whose sap this bird is sucking is a wooden fence, and on the other side of that fence is the back yard of a woman whose thumb may be the greenest in our entire neighborhood. Professionally, she is a part-time garden and landscaping advisor, and if her back yard is anything like her front yard (which could be used as a putting green on one of the better golf courses), it is a space which is extremely kind and nurturing to nature.
Actually, I was probably just lucky to come across a broad-minded and non-jumpy bird (Stellar’s Jays, you would do well to take lessons from this Sapsucker), but I’m thankful for the chance to gaze upon this creation of God and long for the time when the real Eden has come, and humans and birds and animals will be fearless and happy together.
For four Bible verses about nature, click the link just below: