<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> Our yard has certain wildness. It’s an uninhibited landscape. Such a yard and dead limbs make our place the occasional nesting site for red-headed woodpeckers. Our rural neighborhood is blessed by the presence of these lovely birds each year. <o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> I headed out of my driveway and was down the road when a red-headed woodpecker nearly hit my car. <o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> That near miss, which I was so thankful that it was a miss, made me think of Aristotle. I took a class years ago (no, Aristotle didn’t teach it), in which Aristotle was credited with coming up with the four levels of happiness. Here they are as I remember them.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> 1. Material objects.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> 2. Ego gratification.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> 3. Doing good for others.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> 4. Not having a red-headed woodpecker collide with your car.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> Aristotle was a birder.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Al Batt</span></p></div><div><br><br><br><div><br></div></div></body></html>