Active vs passive

Last winter the chickadees at our feeders planted a small proportion of the sunflower seeds they were given.

And being the kind of passive gardeners we are, the sunflowers that sprouted this spring were given their own pots and sunny spots to grow in. Grow they did, and we even let them go to seed.

Now the chickadees are picking seeds from the seedy flower heads, from the sunflowers they planted. Smart birds. Nothing prodigal about them.

And who's trained whom? They have domesticated us. They are the active gardeners.

This picture was just as the sun was going down this afternoon.