One of the things I like about myself is that I am easily entertained. This is not to say that I don’t get bored, periodically I do. It largely depends on the setting, but for the most part I find that I can either entertain or occupy myself or be entertained by examining the world around me and the various creatures (including humans) that inhabit it. I take great pleasure in some very simple things.
I am finding the action that’s been taking place at bird feeder very entertaining. I have always loved birds and backyard animals–animals of any kind really–and grew up watching and listening to the birds that populated my various yards. (If you regularly read this blog you know this about me already.) When I moved from California, leaving my much loved wild turkeys behind (I haven’t yet seen any here in Maryland), I wondered what manner of fauna I’d find. I knew I’d cardinals, which made me very happy as they are one of my favorite birds and you don’t find them in California. I have also become accustomed to the black squirrels–including one that lives in the tree in my yard along with two other grey squirrels. But I was particularly hopeful about the birds.
So in November I hung my feeder right outside one of my living room windows and waited. No one showed up in December or and the first visitor in mid-January was a squirrel. The birds eventually discovered the feeder and the last few weeks have been a virtual avian free-for-all as a number of different species of critters have shown up. With my nifty camera that is almost always at the ready I have managed to snap photos of about eight to ten different species of birds: tufted titmice, white breasted nuthatch, and potentially Carolina chickadees, with a smattering of other finches, sparrows, and other winged ones yet to be identified. Still, I must confess I was waiting for the cardinals to show: I’d heard their songs in neighboring trees–I’d learned the distinctive sound of the cardinal’s call when I was a child–and hope they’d find their way. And then they did, first the male on March 17 and the female a few days later.
Saint Patrick's Day Visitor to the Feeder
This morning as I was rushing around (in spite of my desire to slow myself down) I came out to the feeder and discovered that once again the squirrel was pounding on the top of the fee. At one point he had actually seemed to hang from the feeder itself before finally giving up and retreating to ground and heading off in search of more easily accessible foodstuffs. It has been quite wonderful watching the antics at the bird feeder and enjoying the up close and personal view I have of the lovely critters who show up there. It is a very simple, inexpensive, and thoroughly enjoyable pastime.
I am grateful as always for the fauna and flora that surround me. It gives me joy to see them and hear them all arounds me. The educator and horticulturist Liberty Hyde Bailey said,“It is a marvelous planet on which we ride. It is a great privilege to live thereon,to partake in the journey,and to experience its goodness.” It truly is a privilege and not one I am likely to take for granted.
The Aerialist
