By Betsy J. Green
WAY BACK WHEN in March 1919, the war in Europe was in the past, and folks in Santa Barbara had time to relax and turn their attention to the ordinary wonders around them as attested to by an editorial in the local paper about a tiny, ordinary bird.
“To none do we give winter crumbs more willingly than to the house wren. That busy little bit of feathers. Perky, saucy, unafraid; just seems to know that nobody would be ornery enough to harm him.”
Betsy’s Way Back When book — 1918 — is now available in local bookstores and at Amazon.com. This is the fifth book in her series of the history of Santa Barbara, one year at a time. Learn more at
How fun! Good for you, Rex! I had a friend who had an English Sheepdog, and birds would sometimes land on the dog’s back and try to grab a bit of hair. I don’t think the dog minded, though.