It seems like no matter what happens to any of the neighborhood critters (wild or tame), they always end up at my house.  If the dog 2 blocks over snaps his backyard chain my doorbell is being pawed within moments of escape.  A squirrel sprains a tail and (you guessed it) we open the door to find her on our porch begging for food.  I never thought I would live to see the day a squirrel would eat a bologna sandwich, until the kids threw their picnic food onto the grass near by.  Last weekend I was tending my outrageously growing herb garden and spotted what appeared to be small wet stick moving on the sidewalk.  Walking over I quickly realized it was a tiny baby dove that had been snatched from a nest built in my  neighbor's porch planter.  The planter sits on the porch where anything could have come  for a quick kidnap and getaway.  (Catbird, black bird, tabby up the street).  There was a second baby but that one disappeared before this little one wound up next to my herb garden.  I did the first thing that came to mind;  picked it up.  One side was plucked clean of any downy hair.  The ravaged dangling wing resembled  fine little fish bones lined up next to each other.  The tiny nestling barely moved as it continued to breath in a very relaxed fashion.  With a basket filled with soft cloth, the tiny dove was wisked into the house for a complete physical conducted by the entire family.  She seemed so unafraid.  In fact she was so calm it was almost as if she was letting out a sigh of rescued relief.   With the heat being what it was that day, water to rehydrate was next on the agenda.  Out came the household eye dropper.  She definitely quenched a thirsty little beak.  She was reswaddled safely in a pair of my son's old boxer shorts and off to sleep she went.  "Now what"?  My son asked.  I am getting the irritated glare  due to swiping his favorite pair of boxers for this bird.  I told him he would get his boxers back clean and probably soon.  Personally, I didn't think there was much chance she would make it through the night, as I mixed up some powdered  puppy milk.  What do you feed a wild baby bird? My mother's instinct woke me at 2 am.  She sucked up the warmed puppy milk.  Again she feasted at 4 am.  This time she just would not settle into the boxers and go back to sleep.  I cuddled her in the palm of my hand, and pulled her up next to my heart.  Gonk, she's out like a light.  The next day we start this  ritual all over again.  The puppy milk didn't seem to be enough.  I was fixing myself a p-nut butter sandwich when I remembered we always threw out bread in the winter,  smeared with p-nut butter.  Without a better plan,  I concocted a pasty version of a pb sandwich and puppy milk powder.  This little bird sucked it up and then squeaked out a tiny peep.  Maybe it was a birdie burp.   All day at 2 hour intervals it is birdie feeding time.  Went to a wild bird site on the web.  I read the first sentence.  "If you find a nestling on the ground, and its eyes are not open "DO NOT PICK IT UP". According to the article the bird won't survive in human care if they are that young.  If you do find yourself rescuing a feathered friend the diet may not be known.  This article tells how to make up stand-by survival food by grinding up high quality dry dog food and mixing water and a small amount of syrup to stoke up the calories.  Whoops, I didn't see p-nut butter on the list.  If I have puppy milk in the house, you guys know I am bound to have a dog.  So I get started on the new birdie dinner.  P-U, it stinks.  I guess that is why they said to put some syrup in.  If this stuff tastes as bad as it smells it will need something for "Squeakens" (yes, we named her) to choke this down.  Well, she took two drops from the eye dropper and turned around in my palm sticking her butt up and her head down.  That was the end of puppy/birdie chow.  Thank goodness.  It gave her the runs all night anyway.  Okay....Now we have to do a birdie bath because she STINKS.  Naptime after the bath worked like clock work.  Back to the sandwiches.  You will be happy to hear the wing is improved, feathers have started over the downy hair, and her pretty little eyes are wide open.  She is going to make it.  In fact she has just started sleeping through the night.  Hey!  Where have I heard that before?  My neighbor came by and asked when I was going to start flying lessons.  Do I just jump off the roof or do I run around the yard flapping my arms.  Frankly it's the "worm thing" that scares me more.   Where is she now?  Squeakens is asleep in a painted wooden bucket sitting on my desk next to me while I blog.  She's growing so fast I don't think I will have time to paint her name.  She has graduated to eating slimey wads of wet p-nut butter bread and puppy milk.  She splashed around her birdie bath this morning after breakfast.  So, what do I feed her next?  She even  displays  likes and dislikes.  Head up butt down is a yeah.  Burrowed head with her butt stuck up in the air is an obvious "no way mamma"!  I don't worry the neighbors will call me crazy.  They know already!!  So, WHAT DO I FEED THE BIRD? My son is still waiting for his boxers.

--Blue  Butterfly