Backyard carnage

Referring to something in today’s Slice column, Don Hartvigsen wrote “Be careful what you wish for” in the subject line of his email.

“We were wishing the other day that we did not have so many squirrels in our yard,” he wrote. “Well, recently we had ‘new neighbors’ move in, several Cooper’s hawks.

“We soon began finding squirrel skeletons in the yard, pcked clean. We also noticed we no longer have our dear quail families, only daily piles of blue-gray feathers.

“And this morning while reading The Slice, I heard a small song bird in distress on our patio. I looked out the kitchen window and saw the Cooper’s hawk perched on a patio chair 10 feet from the door. The song bird was cowering in a forsythia bush next to the door.

“I wish I hadn’t wished for less squirrels.”