There was a time when my garden was a haven for birds. From the break of dawn until twilight, their melodious songs filled the air like nature’s own symphony. They flitted from feeder to bath, completing the pastoral scene I had worked so hard to cultivate.
That is … until I began feeding a stray cat that occasionally visited.
Slowly but unmistakably, the music of the birds faded until their absence was an echoing silence. It was at that moment that I understood — some choices can’t coexist.
At first, the sanctuary I created for the birds seemed like a clear path, one where I delighted in their presence and they, in turn, found nourishment and safety. It was a choice that felt wholly right, one that enriched the garden of my life with beauty and melody.
Enter the stray cat, another part of nature’s intricate web. He too seemed to belong, particularly since I was still grieving the loss of my pet, Shadow.
So, at the time, it seemed like a good idea to extend my haven to this new cat. Yet, as he continued to stop by, the birds that once graced my mornings and afternoons disappeared. My garden fell silent, and the sanctuary I built felt incomplete.
