“Chickadees are very curious. See if one will come to you.” Heeding Sara’s suggestion, I put my hand out, palm up, and waited. Within a few seconds, a little bird landed on a nearby branch, cocked his head and looked at looked at me. Then, in a move so quick that you could hardly anticipate it, he jumped off the branch, flew over and landed on my hand. He was only there for a second or two, but those few seconds have stayed in my mind for weeks. Here is the thing that I keep thinking about: I could not have forced that encounter. Calling that bird in would not have...