>Favorites: Chatting about raising birds

Favourites: Chatting about raising birds In modern society, people live a worry-free life and are rich in material things, but their hearts are empty. Especially those ladies who have plenty of money are addicted to doing nothing...

Favorite: Chatting about raising birds In modern society, people live a carefree life and are rich in material things, but they are empty in spirit. Especially those ladies whose families have plenty of money and have nothing to do. Some like to play mahjong or go shopping to kill their spare time; the educated send love letters, paintings, and chants to entertain themselves, and some keep pets such as cats, dogs, fish, and birds to keep them company. Many years ago, my children learned from the Internet that middle-aged and elderly people who own dogs are less likely to have heart disease? The filial son Akihito spent several hundred Australian dollars to buy back a newborn shepherd dog and gave it to us as a companion. When this clever puppy grew up, because he knew I didn't like him, he often dragged my clothes off the clothes drying rack in the backyard and soiled them; the mistress never played with her clothes. I glared at it and roared, and my wife Wanbing laughed at it. Eight or nine years later, the shepherd dog grew old and became seriously ill and difficult to treat. The veterinarian came to euthanize it. Wanbing and her daughter-in-law were heartbroken and cried endlessly, as if a close relative had passed away. After this pain, I no longer keep dogs. I have never been in favor of keeping pets at home, purely out of compassion. For their own personal preference, people forcefully buy back dogs, cats, fish, birds, animals and other small creatures, imprison them in cages or water tanks, and let them suddenly lose their freedom. It is really cruel. In fact, we and these so-called pets all live in this small world of the earth at the same time; we breathe the same air, feel the same light of the sun and the moon, and constantly experience the cycle of birth, old age, illness, and death. Because humans evolved before them, has it become a world of the weak and the strong? Capture and imprison them at any time, and slaughter them for food; use them as objects of empathy and raise them to relieve boredom and have fun? Once these little creatures fall under people's control, they lose the original meaning of life and become commodities involuntarily. In the end, he was taken care of and became an innocent prisoner? These pitiful little creatures have no place to complain and are unable to resist. They have become human playthings and have been imprisoned for a long time. It has been more than 30 years since I moved to Xinxiang. Since Melbourne is a famous garden city, suburban houses all have front and rear gardens. When the sky is sunny and the windows are open, you can see the shadows of butterflies fluttering outside. The birds are chirping and the fragrance of flowers is floating. The toilet is so pure that it makes the body and mind feel comfortable and relaxed. There are two fig trees, one loquat, one lemon, and one peach tree in the back garden. I have planted many pots of orchids for viewing, as well as herbs, perilla, mint, and peppers for Vietnamese meals. In the middle of January every year, the fig trees are full of ripe fruits. Wanbing is very busy picking figs on the branches every day. In addition to eating them, she also gives them in larger and smaller packages to relatives and friends to share. The fruits on the top of the tree have become a delicacy for the birds that smell the fragrance. At dusk, more than a dozen brightly colored parrots often fly up and happily jump around on the tree, pecking at the delicious figs. Standing outside the back door and watching these colorful flocks of parrots, you will be deeply affected by their joy; the sweet sound you hear from the birds is really a wonderful music of nature that is hard to find. This good time lasts for about two months. It is not until the figs are ripe, picked and eaten that the beautiful parrots disappear temporarily and will not come back to enjoy them until mid-summer next year. In the evening, I will take the leftovers and old slices of bread to the grass under the trees so that the passing sparrows, orioles, or lost seagulls can satisfy their hunger. Especially after spring in early September, the temperature gradually warms up, and from afternoon to dusk, birds can be heard constantly singing, and their shadows are soaring under the trees. These birds are all spiritual and can read people's hearts just a few feet away. Knowing that not only did I mean no harm, but I might also have seen someone regularly bringing bird food to the backyard for them to enjoy. Therefore, seeing my presence without fear gave me a wonderful time to watch birds and listen to their sounds. When I visited relatives in Germany in my early years, I accompanied my late father on a walk through the Rhododendron City (Westerstede) in North Germany. I was surprised to see water-holding plastic bowls hanging on the high branches on both sides of the street. My father told me that the Germans were afraid that passing birds would have no water to drink, so they provided water to them. I was deeply moved by the love of the German people. After returning to Australia, when I was donating bird food, I did not forget to find a plastic basin, fill it with water, and put it under the tree. People who raise birds at home must imprison them in cages and let the poor little creature become a prisoner? Are they guilty enough to suffer such abuse? It’s just people’s selfish desires, which really shouldn’t be the case. Do these bird keepers only raise three, five or more than ten birds? I raise birds in the sky and on earth. There are countless birds. Sometimes there are dozens of different birds flying together. They compete to spread their throats and sing, or flap their wings to fight for food, or jump up and down, or chirp and quarrel endlessly. Watching it with cold eyes is endless fun. As I was typing this article, I suddenly heard the birds singing in the back garden. The sounds were chaotic and incoherent. They must have been competing for figs again. Is it difficult to resist the temptation of birdsong, or should we stop there and go see those little birds that come to the garden of the humble house? February 12, 2012, Ji Xia in Melbourne.