Hodgepodge has gone to the birds

 

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1.  April 26th is National Audubon Day, honoring John James Audubon, the French-American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter known for his detailed study and illustration of birds in their natural habitats. 

Do you have a bird feeder? Yes we have several in our yards plus I grow sunflowers - all different varieties just for the birds. 

Are any birds in your home decor?  At first, I said No, but I do have a fake owl and 2 fake black birds in my garden and fence. I bought them from the 99-cent store years ago at Halloween - not for a "Halloween" decoration but as a year-round decoration in my yard and the owl sits on my back fence. They are not scary - they look real. 

I do have an old green wire bird cage - and I did move the one blackbird into my kitchen window at Christmas and he's still there with a red blow on him. 

Have you ever owned a pet bird?  

We had a pretty yellow canary that sang sweetly when I was a child. 

Years ago I inherited my mother-in-law's bird, named Pretty Boy.  He was a common everyday parakeet. One day, I took the cover off the cage and he was dead. 

After that, I kept 2 white doves on my front porch year-round in an aviary. I had them for a few years, and they would greet my daycare parents with their sweet Cooing every morning. One time I was cleaning the aviary and the male Dove flew out and never returned. The female was lonely and sad so a very dear friend gifted me with a male she bought at a pet store. As soon as I placed him inside with the female; they both were very happy. They went on to lay eggs and in the last batch, we were moving and were unable to take them - so I gifted them to my friend who kept them on her front porch. Then sometime in the middle of the night, they were stolen. 

What's your favorite bird?   I love all birds so I always feel sad when I have to pick a favorite. They are all beautiful in their own unique way. - Around here, we see bald eagles, ospreys, hawks, and Steller Jays. I enjoy watching the colorful finches, blue jays, and woodpeckers and we have Ravens. In fact, the name of the subdivision I live in has the name,  "Ravens" in the name. There are a lot of them here. 

Just yesterday we were at a gravel place and looking around and a Raven landed near me - the wind was blowing and ruffled up the black feathers around his neck - I tried to get a photo of him - he was so pretty and he flew off. 

2. What's something you took to 'like a duck to water'? 

The first thing that comes to mind, is learning how to use a computer back when it was first starting - I was a full-time, stay-at-home Mom and we lived in Silicon Valley at the time so it must have been in the air...

Our first was an IBM/DOS back around 1988 - I was always able to grasp computer science naturally without any training. Eventually, I took an online course to be able to repair my own computer - As a hobby, I built websites for myself and for others - even a ministry at our church. -  I hold my own now - but with the combination of technological advancement moving so fast and my lack of patience -  I'm not as savvy as I used to be. I know just enough to keep our computers up to date - It was fun though, back when it was all new and getting on the internet when it first came out. Remember AOL? 

3. Empty nest, nest egg, proud as a peacock, free as a bird, birds of a feather flock together, or the early bird catches the worm...choose one and tell us how it currently applies to your life. 

Early Bird catches the worm. I've always been an early riser so that I could go out into the world and catch that worm! I do all my errands in the morning hours. I like to stay home in the afternoons, especially during the summer. 

4. Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds...your favorite seed and a favorite food or dish made with that seed or topped with that seed? Have you tried all the seeds on the list? Any you don't care for? 

I like all those seeds - but flax and chia seeds don't like me. I get a stomach ache. Whole Foods used to have a French bread that featured many seeds; pumpkin seeds; sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, and nuts. It was the bomb! I loved slathering butter on that bread - it was a meal. They don't make it anymore. They have a seed/nut bread but it's packaged and isn't French bread. I enjoy the taste of seedy, nutty bread! 

5. Something in the past week that made you 'happy as a lark'?

Waking up to see my own super bloom on my backyard hill - 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

How do our brains remember that we forgot something, but we can't remember what it was that we forgot - only that we forgot something. My husband mentioned this to me the other day and I have to say, it stumped me. 

As always, 

Debby