Early mornings are my favourite time to think. Sometimes that’s at the table or on the balcony. This time of year it’s usually going for a walk down trafficless downtown streets, it’s meditative.

The only interruptions to my thoughts are the chirps of birds in the trees, silent until my arrival.

They seem to echo as they pass from one to the next, branch to branch, tree to tree.

It’s as if they’re greeting me as I pass, saying “Good morning, human, it’s not often we see someone out this early.”

Then again, it’s much more likely that they’re startled by my presence and are alerting their friends of the impending danger I may pose.

My passing startles them, they don’t expect me.

They’re literally screaming.

I scare birds.