How to Live with Mistakes

Take Pen to Paper: Edition 81

Apr 11, 2024

Hello, Pen to Paper readers.

Where I live, all the trees are leafing out except for the ones cleared for the new houses to be built in the neighborhood.

In this newsletter:

Learning from mistakes
The story of the owl’s tree
A lesson or two learned

Paying Attention to Mistakes

How often do you relate an experience to your friends so they don’t make the same mistake you did?

You may not even have to wait for a story. Just watching someone go first can give you the information you need to be more successful. Most teachers will demonstrate an activity and show a completed product before the students start.

As children on a family vacation, we once stayed at a motel with a pool. This was a novelty for us. I had a healthy fear of the water, but my younger sister did not. She was fearless. She ran and jumped into the “shallow” end which was not as shallow as she thought.

Luckily, an adult was in the pool nearby and pulled her up to the surface. Needless to say, I did not follow her example.

We are going to make mistakes. It’s best that we learn from our mistakes and the mistakes of others.

My Owl’s Tree

The owl is not really mine, but after watching it for a month sitting on the nest and flying out and in, I felt an ownership of sorts.

I told anyone who would listen about where the nest was. If we were close by, I pointed it out.

When I received an email stating that clearing would soon begin on that property, I knew I had to take action.

My first mistake was to go through the channels I thought most appropriate. I checked to see if the owl’s nest was protected. It was. So far, so good.

Most bird nests are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). This law says: “No person may take (kill), possess, import, export, transport, sell, purchase, barter, or offer for sale, any migratory bird, or the parts, nests, or eggs of such bird except as may be permitted under the terms of a valid permit…” Under the MBTA it is illegal to destroy a nest that has eggs or chicks in it or if there are young birds that are still dependent on the nest for survival. It is also illegal for anyone to keep a nest they take out of a tree or find on the ground unless they have a permit to do so issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

I emailed the president of our homeowner’s association to inform him and ask if I could show someone the tree. His answer was yes, but then I didn’t hear any more.

My second mistake was waiting for a response. When the tractors and tree cutters showed up, I emailed again. The president came over, and I showed him the tree. By this time, the owl's mother was flying in and out of the nest in a tizzy because of the machinery noise. How could the tractor driver not see this huge owl flying above his tractor?

My third mistake was assuming the tractor driver would acknowledge the orange tape which went around the owl’s tree putting it just within the safe zone.

As the property was cleared, I couldn’t keep watching. At this point, I knew I should have contacted the developer myself. But why didn’t I wave to the driver and tell him he would be held responsible? (Fourth mistake)

My husband and next-door neighbor watched as the work was finished. The last tree that was taken down was the owl’s tree, with it the owlet that was already hatched.

As always, hindsight is 20/20.

Don’t be misled. The clearing grew. Photo by S.G.S. Abel

My Lessons

So, how do you live with the mistakes you make?

You learn from them.

You already know some of the lessons I learned: don’t wait, be the squeaky wheel, and don’t assume. Here are some other lessons I learned.

I first wondered, am I the only person who gets emotionally invested in these situations? The answer was no.

My neighbors were just as, maybe more, upset as I was. They had been watching the owl but didn’t know where the nest was until I showed them a few days before the clearing. They immediately reported what happened to the federal wildlife officer and sent pictures of the destroyed nest and dead chick. They came to the door and let us know the action they had taken, knowing how invested I had become in the owl’s success.

The next morning, they were back at my door. The federal wildlife officer was at the work site and wanted to talk to me. The four of us stood in the drizzling rain, talking about the details of what had transpired.

I’ll be honest. I thought the response would be, “Not much we can do now.” I was wrong. Our too-late actions have prompted an investigation to see if the law has been broken. If my original request to mark the tree reached the developer, he will be fined.

As the officer explained, if nothing else, we have worked to educate those involved. Now, I’m sharing it with you.

He took the chick with him so it wouldn’t be left for scavengers. I was comforted by that knowledge.

Later that day, I left on a family vacation. It would be good to have something else to occupy my mind.

At the airport, as we waited for our flight, my two-year-old granddaughter pulled out a book to read, Little Owl’s 1-2-3 by Divya Srinivasan.

Okay, so I might not get my mind off of it.

7 Days, 7 Thoughts on Gratitude and Good:

Two years ago, we had an owl family of a mother and two owlets living in the woods behind our house. The picture above is one of the owls.
Want to know more about the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA)? Check it out here. Much of this was new information for me.
My granddaughter loves the Little Owl books by Divya Srinivasan.
A quote: “Mistakes are the portals of discovery.”-James Joyce. This was definitely true for me! 🚪
Just as I was passionate about my job, I am grateful for people who are passionate about theirs. Currently, the Commonwealth of Virginia only has one wildlife officer for the entire state. That one officer took time with us to explain the process and leave us educated. 👮
It’s good to get to know your neighbors a little more, even if it’s over a sad experience. 🏠🏠
I’m grateful for my husband’s similar feelings about the owl’s tree. He has ordered an owl house for us to put in the woods behind our house, on “our property,” he assured me. 💗Here’s hoping we will have an owl family next year. 🦉🦉🦉

Thank you for reading. I hope this edition of Pen to Paper inspires you to ask questions and take action when you think it’s needed.

Until next time,

💚

Susan

Have you bonded with your neighbors over a neighborhood event? Leave a comment and tell me about it.

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