“Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.”
The weather is the same as yesterday with clouds, but the sun has been playing some peek-a-boo and might just surprise us. It’s 56°. I never did go anywhere yesterday despite my good intentions; I just played at being a sloth, but this morning I have already been to a meeting and gone to have my blood drawn. Three more errands are on the list, and I’ll leave as soon as I finish here. I never can pass up these bursts of energy.
The birds are back. I am forgiven for leaving the feeders empty for so long. There are my usual visitors: titmice, chickadees, goldfinches and nuthatches. Did I mention the red spawn of Satan? It gets into my smaller feeder and settles in for a lavish feast. I tiptoe over and scare it to the ground. I did leave more peanuts for them yesterday and watched as the red spawn dined al fresco. I filled the suet feeder but the woodpeckers haven’t been there yet. They seem to prefer the wood on the side of my house.
In Marrakesh, cranes nest along ancient walls. I sat one afternoon having coffee and watched them coming and going. It was fascinating. Strangely I don’t remember seeing many Ghanaian birds except Guinea fowl and vultures. The vultures made me think of all those movies where they circle the dead bodies and wait for dinner. I remember sitting at the compound of my Ghanaian father’s wives and seeing vultures walking around. I was mesmerized, but after a while, they just became part of the landscape.
Every morning, when I go get the papers, I can hear the birds greeting the day. It is such a welcome sound that I always stand and listen for a bit. They make me believe that soon enough the days will get warmer, and I’ll sit on the deck while the birds swoop in and out over my head to get to the feeders. They make me feel optimistic. If I could whistle a happy tune, I probably would. Come to think of it, I may just anyway.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: Bird, Bird feeder, cranes, Ghana, Marrakesh
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
April 12, 2011 at 12:34 pm
When my grandmother and I were doing some Christmas shopping we went into a shop to look at bird-related items, and the shop clerk told us that woodpeckers like to peck on houses because they make a lot of noise and that’s part of their mating ritual. So while your suet is probably quite tasty, it won’t bring the ladies flying like a good loud hammering does.
April 13, 2011 at 10:48 am
sprite,
I am now happy to know that I am a matchmaker of sorts and will wish my woodpecker good luck in his search!
April 12, 2011 at 1:05 pm
Strangely, we were remarking on sunday that the dawn chorus has returned, and spring truly is here.
And soon the air will be filled with a brand new CD from the wonderful Emmylou Harris. Hard Bargain hits at the end of April (26). If you boogie over to emmylouharris.com, there is a nice free download of “The Road” (Gram) to enjoy.
I am dancing in my air cast 🙂
April 13, 2011 at 10:50 am
My Dear Hedley,
Even the peepers have returned to the small pond down the street: spring is definitely here, temperature not withstanding.
A new Emmylou will definitely brighten the day! I’ll boogie right over!
Thanks!
April 13, 2011 at 7:32 pm
It is a time of some fun new releases, Radiohead’s The King of Limbs, Paul Simons excellent So Beautiful or So What (and no sign of ol Arthur) and next week it’s The Fall by The Gorillaz.
Simon’s offering is a demanding look at end of days, and significant.
April 12, 2011 at 1:20 pm
Rainy and somewhat chilly here today and it will continue to be the same tomorrow they say. I have no fire logs at home so it feels a bit chilly even if it really isn´t 🙂
I stop for a minute or two when I´m about to drive to work now in the mornings. I can hear the twelve thousand cranes by the lake and all small birds singing in the trees around my cottage, it´s wonderful 🙂
The seagulls has arrived too and that makes me feel like I´m close to the ocean again 🙂 I just love that sound!
Have a great day now!
Christer.
April 13, 2011 at 10:51 am
Christer,
The day stayed damp and cold yesterday. The sun appeared a couple of times then retreated. It didn’t like the day much more than the rest of us did.
The seagulls are the most raucous birds and, like you, I listen and enjoy. They fly over yakking the entire time.
April 12, 2011 at 3:07 pm
There is an intersection near my home where thousands of migratory birds sit in the trees and on the wires for several days in the spring and fall. They are some kind of small black birds. They frighten my wife as they bring back memories of Alfred Hitchock’s movie “The Birds”. They also increase the profits of the neighborhood car wash.
Today is the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the civil war in 1861. The war that killed more Americans than all the other wars that we fought combined. The great legacy of that war was that slavery was abolished in this country. Unfortunately, racism has not completely disappeared, I heard a quote on NPR from a professor of ethnic studies, “Racism is just a pigment of your imagination”.
April 13, 2011 at 10:54 am
Bob,
I remember the scene of all those black birds on the wire near the school. Sometimes I think the same thing as your wife when I see birds just perched and watching. They don’t scare me but do give me pause.
I wanted to commemorate the start of that war so I did with my music today. All yesterday NPR had Civil War related stories. I had errands to do and hated to get out of the car and miss anything.
April 12, 2011 at 3:36 pm
At least you don’t have a back yard full of perched vultures awaiting your exit from the back door. 😉
In this part of south Texas, abandoned microwave towers and cross-country high-voltage transmission towers are simply loaded with them come sundown. They start landing about 4:30 and by dark the tops are covered with them.
If your back yard were full of them, the squirrel would be the LEAST of your concerns.
April 13, 2011 at 10:56 am
Rick,
No, I think I’d be more than a little uneasy if there were vultures perched everywhere just watching me. They are about the ugliest birds I’ve ever seen.
They just walked around the middle of the compound and nobody seemed to mind. Toddlers were wandering there too so I figured they’d go first so I felt safe!
April 12, 2011 at 5:15 pm
I don’t remember ever seeing a vulture and guess they are not popular in zoos. Never saw one in the ones I went to. But we have Buzzards here in Florida and I doubt it would be a fair trade. Ugly birds that feed on road kill.
April 13, 2011 at 10:58 am
Z&Me,
I don’t remember seeing a buzzard up close but those vultures are also darn ugly. When they just sit with their shoulders hunched they look downright menacing.
April 13, 2011 at 12:57 pm
We don´t have vultures up here but many of them are quite beautiful I think. But we do have buzzards and those we have looks very beautiful, I wonder if American english has buzzard as the name for other birds than the British english has?
April 13, 2011 at 11:28 pm
Christer,
We don’t have vultures here where I live nor do we have buzzards. They tend to be in the south.
April 13, 2011 at 11:32 pm
My Dear Hedley,
I had read a great review for the Simon so I have it already. The review was right. I’ve listened a couple of times.
I will keep my eye out for the other albums.
April 18, 2011 at 10:03 pm
If you can’t whistle, fake it!
Carl
April 18, 2011 at 10:58 pm
Carl,
I whistle anyway-off tune and ear piercing!