Lions led by Sheep -

(WARNING: this post contains images some readers may find shocking.)

Simple proof of what’s wrong with the world and how to save it.

Recently, I described the joy of rescuing Sarah, an orphaned crow, from certain death. However, not everyone was moved by my heart-warming endeavours. And this perfectly illustrates the root of all the world’s ills and what we can do to stop it.

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I’ve asked if animals have souls before, so why should I now think I have an answer?

Writing this post has been a tremendous struggle - I hated every second of it.

• It’s not the post I started to write.
• It’s not the post I ever dreamed I’d write.
• And it’s certainly not the post I ever wanted to write.

So why write it?

To finish a story I started last week.

So if that and the title aren’t big enough clues, I have some bad news - Sarah, the crow we rescued, is dead.

Ania and I are absolutely devastated. We looked after her for only three full days but in that time -

• we saw her character.
• we saw her developing - learning how to drink, to eat.
• we saw her loving life.

We’d have loved to keep her, but knew that was being totally selfish and that her best chance of survival and of living a full life as a wild bird was for us to give her up and take her to a bird sanctuary.

This we did.

Their specialist told us she was healthy and had a good chance of being released.

Just hours later, she was dead.

So what happened that a healthy crow suddenly died?

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Global warming is set to be the villain of the 21st century. Unless oil prices bankrupt us all, so we can’t run anything to create the pollution. But is there an upside?

Sunday, June 1st, Ania and I spent eight hours online searching for a sightseeing-packed summer holiday. Finally, we plumped on the U.S..

We found the cheapest flight, cheapest car hire, and plotted a route to include such wonders as the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Yellowstone. Over the next week, we verified a few facts, then Saturday, went online to book everything.

Within seconds we were as miserable as sin. And one of us was swearing profusely. (I’ll let you guess which.)

The flight we needed had rocketed by £160 ($320). We were already over budget, so that bust everything.

We returned to scouring the web, vainly hoping a cheap flight would miraculously appear.

But miracles just don’t happen, do they?

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Why does caring for the environment have to be so painful?

My last post talked about filthy, disease-spreading rats.

But I know another filthy, disease-spreading species.

A species far more dangerous than the humble rat because it knows it’s doing wrong, but just doesn’t care.

Last Saturday, Ania and I took a train to the historic city of York. Under a glorious blue sky, we ambled through Museum Gardens where squirrels scampered amongst picnickers, then by the gothic, 800-year-old Minster. Sipping freshly-made lemonade, we meandered around The Shambles, awed by the 16th century buildings nestling in the maze of narrow, cobbled streets.

Later, we strolled along the city’s fortified wall. Its lush green ramparts were speckled white and gold with daisies and buttercups. We took a break halfway around to admire the view. Dangling our legs over the side of the wall, we tucked into a picnic while basking in the serenity of a sleepy suburb shaded by towering oaks and vibrant with birdsong…

Ahhhh, heaven!

Or was it? What’s wrong with this picture?

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