Thursday, April 26, 2012

The Birds...

For most of my life, I've had this thing about birds!  I saw the psycho movie, "The Birds", when I was in my late teens, and it scarred me, I'm sure, but it really only confirmed what I already knew:  Birds are something diabolical when you take them out of their usual context.



Don't get me wrong, I love watching birds, hearing birds sing, watching them play in the water of my DH's pond, even identifying and noting them.  But take them out of their natural habitat and they inspire fear in me that rocks me to my core.

When I was a child, my neighbours would ask me to look after their house and feed their pets when they went away on vacation.  They had budgies, in a cage.  They looked harmless enough.  Then, one day, when I was feeding them or changing their water, they escaped!  Oh, the fluttering and swooping and bashing into windows!  How was I going to catch them again??  I think I finally, on the advice of my dad, threw a tea towel over them and picked them up and put them back in the cage, but I was terrified that they would do themselves serious harm and it would be all my fault.  I could just see myself confronting my neighbours when they returned with:  "So tell me, did your budgie seem depressed to you?"



We have a species of bird that nests around our area in the spring and summer.  We think they are called Brewer's Blackbirds, but they must be related to starlings or crows.  They are aggressive and unpleasant.  They have several guttural, unmelodious calls and one that sounds like someone is slurping soup.  They take over and drive all the nice birds away, and then, if you get too close to their nests, they dive bomb you!  Fuel to the fire!

All this background was important so you would understand my consternation when my cat, Beetle, brought a live bird into the house on Monday!  Of course, Ken was away and couldn't deal with it, so it was up to me.  With my heart beating a million miles an hour, I managed to corner it in Ken's office, where I shut the door and scooped up Beetle, who was zeroing in for the kill, and dumped her outside, with a glare that she knew meant business.  At this point, the terrified bird was thrashing around and continually dashing itself against the window in the office.  Gathering my courage, I went in the office and opened the window, and removed the screen.  All the while the little sparrow continued to thrash and dash!  Naturally, it wouldn't go near the opening to the outside that I had provided, so I used the screen to try and gently move it in that direction.  I guess the bird hadn't heard that insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results!  Finally, I had no choice but to pick up the fluttering ball of terror and toss it out the window.  Much to my surprise, I was able to do that which I most feared and I survived!!  So did the bird!!

But when my husband mentioned that he was going to install the cat door he had purchased a couple of years ago this summer, my response was, let's just say, a little more than he bargained for.

And speaking of birds...

Here is an anniversary card I designed for my middle daughter and her husband:



Birds on cards are nice!  I used Marina Mist cardstock for the base and the blue heart, cut with Framelits Hearts collection.  The Whisper White heart was cut with the next smallest size.  The back panel is a scrap of older, discontinued DSP I found in my stash, but there are many that would work well.  The stamp is from a set called Nature Walk.  I inked the flower stamp using Stampin' Write markers and stamped off once before applying to the two hearts, and the sentiment oval.


I used the Boho Blossoms punch to make the flowers and the Little Leaves sizzlit to make the - you guessed it - leaves from Certainly Celery cardstock.


There you have it, and I'll leave you with this thought:  May we work toward a world where chickens are free to cross the road without everyone questioning their motives!

2 comments :

  1. I love the story, Heather - and it brings to mind the robins some friends are dealing with who are of the diabolical bend and have trouble understanding that their natural home is outside in a nest in the trees and they should not be 'window shopping' by constantly beaking at the glass to get in!!

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