12 More Days (Slice #19 - Bird Lady)

Have you ever heard of a “crazy cat lady?”  You know, a little old lady that has a thousand cats and stays at home in her pajamas all day just to hang out and talk to them?  That’s me – except with birds.  No need to panic, I do not have a home full of birdcages and constant chirping.  I do, however, have several bird feeders in my back yard and can be found on any given day off watching (and even talking to) my little friends.

When we first moved into our home here in Joplin, I instantly fell in love with our back yard.  It is full of life – trees, critters, and lovely birds of all kinds.  We had not been here long before I insisted that we buy a bird feeder to cater to our feathered guests.  As Aaron usually does, he humored me and helped me pick out a small feeder on clearance at Lowe’s.  Soon after, we had bunches of new bird friends in the back yard and my crazy bird lady days began!

Now, only two years later, we have four bird feeders!  Two are relatively standard feeders to attract a variety of birds including cardinals, chickadees, finches, woodpeckers, and many others.  The one closest to the house is a hummingbird feeder, which hopefully will be visited in the very near future.  And, the newest addition to the group is a bright yellow Goldfinch feeder in the far back.  We bought this one three days ago, and it is already bringing more Goldfinches to the yard than I can count!

The birds have names, of course.  Some of them have generic names because they come in flocks or are too numerous to distinguish certain individuals.  For example, the Goldfinches are my “Goldies,” and the cute little winter visitors, called Juncos, are my “pink bills.”  Others are named individually.  Ralph is our resident Red-bellied Woodpecker, named after Wreck-It Ralph for the way he flies into the feeder like a wrecking-ball and makes a huge mess of all the seed.  We call our Red-winged Blackbird "Chief" because the red and yellow bars on his wings look like part of a Native American headdress.  Others include Robert (the Downy woodpecker), Big Red (the Cardinal), Momma (the lady Cardinal), and Little Blue (the Indigo Bunting), just to name a few.  We even have a squirrel named Scalpy, due to the fact that he has no fur on his tail!

Is this all crazy?  Yes, probably.  Do I care?  Nope – not in the least.  For me, there is simply nothing more relaxing and enjoyable than sitting at the kitchen table in my pajamas, warm coffee in hand, just watching the beauty of nature unfold in my own back yard.  Try it sometime!  You might just become a crazy bird lady too. 

_________________________________________________________________

Someone, ANYONE, please answer this math question for Miss Collins:

Which of the following is the least?

A.  30% of 90

B.  50% of 70

C.  60% of 60

D.  70% of 50