Channeling the Bird Lady from Mary Poppins

This is a woodsy post. If you have an aversion to such nonsense—leave now.

I have become a bird watcher.

I used to mock bird watchers.

I swear my mocking never, EVER, fails to come back and bite me in the butt.

But in my defense—I do not own a wool blazer or participate in any annual bird round up thingie.

I am strictly a watcher.

Wow-that doesn’t sound the least bit creepy.

Anyhoo—I have discovered that bird watching soothes my soul. I can’t claim any Mother Nature/Cinderella type moments but it is great therapy. But if you’ve ever tried to bird watch—you know that you have to be still—and I do not spend nearly enough time being still. Somehow, when I am still enough to watch this--

---I am still enough to sort through all the noise in my head and find the One voice I am always “saying” I want to hear. I had almost forgotten what it is like to just “be”.




Now granted—my children are all old enough to be left unattended without fear of any bloodshed or make up on my bedspread or crayons pictures on the wall—for a little while anyways. So a few years back –this wouldn’t have even been an option—(to be still, alone in my room-all at the same time)I get that. But in THIS season of my life---it has been a wonderful.



We collect pine cones and smear them with peanut butter and roll them in birdseed and some chopped up fruit and then hang them from wires outside my bedroom window. We also smear peanut butter and birdseed on a pine tree a few yards from the house for some of the bigger birds that can’t quite figure out how to land on the pine cones. (giggle)


So I am sitting there, in the cold, patiently waiting for the birds to pose for me--- (yes dear, I know that Crocs are EXTREMELY unfashionable and plaid nightgowns in the middle of the day are so OUT—but—oh yeah-don’t care)


--and for awhile the birds do some of their best moves for the camera—then—nothing—no birds, no chirping, no nothing. Then this comes into my viewfinder—

Hmmmmm—do you suppose there’s a connection???!

And just for you cat lovers—this is their favorite place during the day—sadly they are not much brighter than the birds when it comes to realizing there is a window there.

Glad I got that post out of my system.