In the garden that I share with our neighbor, there is a row of blueberry bushes, and then another of raspberries. It’s getting closer to harvest for both, so the blueberry bushes are now shrouded in a light fabric to protect them from the birds.  Last year, the same bushes were covered with a fine mesh netting which has become commonly used in this area to protect plants from deer. But one day a beautiful male cardinal became entangled in the netting, unable to free himself. Jan and I tried so hard to free him – but he died in our hands.  He was one half of a mating couple that had made the backyard home for several years, and we were both devastated – both by his death, and by how it happened.  The tension. Our enjoyment, and yes, hunger, for fresh food – and the needs of the animals who share our home.