Tuppence a bag
When I was younger and still lived at home, I gave my mom all kinds of grief for her obsession with feeding the local bird life. We had three or four bird feeders: one for finches, one for cardinals, and a couple for whatever other birds might decide to visit. Mom was so concerned about feeding these birds, that she’d buy food almost every time we went out. We bought her a set of nice binoculars one year for Christmas for her “bird watching”, and she desperately wanted an electronic bird finder that would identify birds by song. I made fun of her every chance I got, telling her she was just like the bird lady from Mary Poppins… she might as well have sat on a park bench singing “Feed the birds, tuppence a bag.”
Nowadays I find that feeding the birds is really enjoyable. I love seeing a new type of bird at my feeders – last year, for example, I had indigo buntings (of course, I haven’t seen any since). I have a cardinal family that lives in the raspberry thicket behind my house, and there is a pair of blue jays making their presence known this year. I’m also feeding goldfinches this year, and the thistle seed is attracting larger birds, too, like mourning doves. Now there are purple finches, and a pair of red-headed woodpeckers… the woodpeckers seem to enjoy the suet cakes the most, though I’m not buying any more of them now that the weather is getting warmer. Oh, and the hummingbirds… they’ve just shown up again, and they’re so fascinating to watch!
I guess I really am my mother’s daughter.
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