It’s for the birds.
Once our son moved out, we took the bird feeder (which is transparent, with suction cups) he had outside his upstairs window, and stuck it outside our kitchen window. Our son also left a half-used bag of bird seed in the garage, so we just had to clean the feeder, stick in on the window, fill it, and wait. This way, we can enjoy watching the birds when we eat our lunches on weekends, or when I write on my little laptop at the kitchen table.
The problem is, I don’t know one bird from the other — no knowledge of sizes, colors, plumage, tails, beaks or bellies. So, this is how the experience goes for me, as I sit here, writing:
What is that strange sound? I didn’t start the dishwasher. What the … (then turning my head towards the window) … Oh, there’s a bird in the birdfeeder! He … or she … is really digging in there. It’s brown! It’s got a slightly red head. Maybe it’s a lady cardinal! I pretty much only know what a male cardinal looks like. And a blue jay. Thanks to major league baseball, most of us know what these birds look like. And I know blue birds, although sometimes, I confuse them. But this one doesn’t look like it has enough red, it’s mostly dark gray or maybe sort of brown. And it’s small-looking, although female cardinals aren’t that big … or are they? They’re winter birds, … uhhh, aren’t they? I don’t know. But there are so many photos of cardinals, bright red, sitting on…
