Good IntentionsIt was actually a baby flicker, like this picture. They were nesting in a hole in a willow tree.

This morning I found myself telling my three-year-old how good intentions are not enough,

yet we are relating to a three-year-old. As I child I climbed a tree to a bird's nest. Lo and

behold the baby birds were well feathered. I thought I would help the mother bird by

teaching them to fly. I gently carried one of the young birds down the tree. I proceeded to

walk to a clear area, and tossed the baby bird into the air like launching a rocket. The bird

flapped furiously, but nevertheless struck the ground with sufficient force to break its' neck

and who knows what other parts. The lesson, of course, "good intentions are not enough."