I saw this picture of an eastern bluebird in the new york times home and garden section today, and my heart skipped a beat. Was this magical bird for real?. It was, I came to find out when I read the article it so proudly represented, a crop of azure, scarlet and gold by anne raver. She talks about how the garden she planned in her mind, has changed dramatically with the return of bluebirds and pileated woodpeckers and carolina wrens. These birds, long absent to her central Maryland farm, have returned thanks to farmer's cutting back on the use of pestisides and new government subsidies that have turned cropland into land for native grasses and trees. So she's left trees she thought she'd remove and allowed weeds to grow in places she normally wouldn't, all to keep these beautiful birds happy and home. I have never seen an eastern bluebird in my life (since I live in the west) but I imagine the return of these beauties to my garden would be worthy of quite a celebration and a welcome garden redesign. Once in a while, there are happy endings out there and this article tells the wonderful story of one of them.
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