For the Birds

Beautiful birds at my backyard window peering into my world asking where’s the large bird feeder that once graced this hallowed windowsill? My reply references the baby squirrel who came by last year and refused to see that the feeder was not his private booth at his favorite restaurant. The squirrel served up some major squirrel attitude when I tapped on my window asking him to leave several times. Finally, he turned his head, threw up his paw, and knocked the tray over spilling all its contents to the ground below where he could complete his dining experience more freely. I’ll bet he was laughing loudly at me as he continued eating in spite of my presence at the window.

Yesterday, upon returning from the laundry room in the basement, I saw a blue jay peering into my dining room window. It was so beautifully amazing to witness nature in this way, up close and personal. As I approached the window the blue jay flew up into a large tree in my neighbor’s yard. This is when I spotted a second blue jay on my back fence. So I decided I would go out to fill the small feeder hung on the fence a few feet from my window.

I arrived in the backyard about 9:00am with my mom only to be greeted by a squirrel scampering towards our yard from a neighbor’s backyard. Mom and I stopped our feet and shout at the squirrel and it quickly turned and ran off in another direction. I thought the squirrel wanted the birdseed we were bringing out to the feeder, but I was wrong. As mom swept the cemented area near the house, she discovered the squirrel had left some of his little acorns unattended. He was only returning for his stash.

Once the squirrel was gone, I trimmed the grass, pruned flower bushes, raked and bagged grass and weeds. Then I filled the small bird feeder to the rim. I could hear the birds tweeting the entire time. They were probably sending messages to one another about the birdseed. As mom and I sipped our bottled water, we breathed in some much needed fresh air. “There’s nothing like nature,” mom said as we returned into our humble abode.