Bird comings and goings

Well, not every day can be a Happy Bird Day, but I think I'm back on track. Very excited to say that Rose-breasted Grosbeaks showed up at my feeders yesterday. I saw two males and a female. Today there are at least four males hanging around. I am trying to get some good pictures. It's hard to take good pictures of birds! (Unlike the rainbow above, which kindly stood still :)) Also this morning I looked out to see a Baltimore Oriole on my handmade Oriole feeder! It started raining soon after and he hasn't been around since, but I hope he didn't go far. I was so psyched to know that the feeder worked, although it does still need some tweaking because the grape jelly keeps dumping out. But I'm getting there! Hope to get the Etsy shop open later this week.

Earlier this week I spotted a White-breasted Nuthatch, who seems to be hanging around Also, I think the Juncos left. Do Juncos leave? I will have to look it up. I kinda miss them.

Bird Therapy

I've always been a worried person. My first memory is of worrying. It's a pretty ridiculous way to spend a life, given what all of our eventual outcomes will be. What do I hope to achieve by worrying? I have no idea. Honestly at this point I think it has just become a habit. In any given situation, even good situations, my brain always goes to the worst that could happen, just because that's what it's always done. Well, I'm sick of it, and I'm ready to create a new habit.

How does this apply to a bird blog? In any situation there is a choice to see the pain or the beauty. The dark clouds on the horizon, or the swallows skimming the pond. Birds are always around, so much so that they are easy to ignore. And ignore them is exactly what I've done for most of my stressed-out adulthood. But like beauty, truth, or any other abstract "good thing," when you finally open your eyes and look, the birds are there.

So try this: when dark thoughts come, look for a bird. Listen for a bird. Change your focus to the beauty in the world. If birds aren't your thing look for a flower. But pick something that is always there, so you can be sure to find it whenever you look.

Have a Happy Bird Day!

It started with bird books

These four in particular. As a child I carried them with me everywhere. I'm not sure if I was even old enough to read at the time. But I loved to look at the pictures, especially of the small, colorful birds. Odd that my obsession started with pictures of birds rather than the birds themselves, but I was an odd child!

Fast forward 30 years or so, and I'm still obsessed. With the books! But now the birds too. I'm also obsessed with making things from reclaimed materials. And I'm in need of a new career. So...Happy Bird Day!