Thursday, June 19, 2014

THE BIRD

A few weeks ago I attended my first Comic Con!  My friends and I traipsed around meeting actors from Star Trek, Firefly, and The Lord of the Rings.  Here I am with Sean Astin.
If it looks like we're good friends, it's because we are.  Sean said so.  Sure, I have no way of getting together with him, no way to call him up and be like, "Sean, buddy, friend, let's get some ice cream."  But we're still like old friends now. Because he said so.  Sean, if you're out there, text me.

(Check out and support Remember the Sultana, a documentary Sean's passionately working working on here.)

We also talked with Tippi Hedren.  We discussed the brilliant yet disturbing nature of Alfred Hitchcock and her experience in The Birds.  Remember this horrifying movie?
And so I was inspired to finally catch my own nightmarish of a bird on film.

On storybook-cottage's about me page, reference was made to the crazy cardinal that wakes us every morning...the one that wakes us up multiple times.  He's had this routine for 4 months now.  I do not like mornings.  I believe mornings, southern gospel music, and turnips are of the devil.  (I am not responsible for the content of this page, and I don't know who is.)  But this bird has no regard for sleeping disorders.  This is what he does at 5 am, 7am, 8am, pretty much anytime am.  And I'm almost sure he'd play southern gospel music and force me to eat turnips if he could.

I now present to you a disturbing 4 minutes and 46 seconds (or as long as you can withstand it...take a minute to put your kids in rest time...you know...because it's scary) of...THE BIRD.
 
Why does he do this? Clearly he does not understand the need for boundaries.  

Initially I misunderstood him for an injured bird.  I got out of bed, went outside and looked all around the ground to find him.  nope.  just kidding.  He was nowhere.  And then he came back.  and came back again.  

Then I thought he might want to come in.  One day I opened the door, curious to see if he indeed just wanted to spend a little quality time together.  After all, all the greats like Snow White and Cinderella talk with birds and mice.  Maybe I'm drawing him to me with my likeness to Disney princesses. (Sleeping Beauty?)

But it was time to go to work and he hadn't come by (it was not morning).  When I told this to Sister-in-Law Krystal, she said, "What??!!  Do you know what birds do when they're in your house?"  Yes. I know. But it was baffling me, and his persistence was wearing down my resistance.  crazy bird.

Routinely he does this as his lady friend feasts on sunflower seeds.  Almost like a man finding a way to entertain himself while his wife is shopping.  So I stopped putting out food. 
But he kept coming. He comes and he comes and he comes again.  crazy bird.

And he's loud.  You heard the white noise machine in the video.  Our white noise is like cotton candy for sleeping, but he's louder.

Really, I think he just likes it.  And as much as he drives me nuts, he is now a part of our cottage.  The bird that positions himself to intentionally fly directly into a window door...over and over and over again.  

And now here are some pleasant photos of bird-like things here in this enchanted forest.  I actually captured a few moments of vultures eating a dead squirrel on the road from this last weekend, but this post has become terrifying enough.

Let's think happy thoughts together.

I call this area bird town, and will be forever grateful to the unknown owner who placed these houses so liberally around the property.
When coming across the house in the photo below, I may have gasped out loud, as once more the blessing of living here filled me with wonder.  What a perfect gift this home is for us.

The bird house is also gasping.
Here is a robin that wishes to be like the sunflower-eating birds.  It hung out here for a Saturday morning, imagining what it must be like to eat from a basket and not have to go digging for worms on dreary days.
It is good to dream, isn't it little robin.

Here is a nest above the outside fan switch.  Currently unoccupied, but has served as a the birthing place for several little birds, so it remains undisturbed.
 
Some days we don't have to make anything beautiful.  Some days it's more than enough to acknowledge the beauty painted before us...painted for us.  And I believe there are lessons to be learned...even from noisy, red, crazy cardinals.

How is your today world beautiful?

8 comments:

  1. I call him CC for Crazy Cardinal. Although he is pesty, he has been a good alarm clock for me. Unlike Linnet, I'm a morning person. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. http://blog.duncraft.com/2012/03/22/why-is-this-cardinal-flying-into-my-window-car-mirror-car-bumper-etc/comment-page-1/

    ReplyDelete
  3. http://www.wild-bird-watching.com/Cardinals-Windows.html#sthash.8PwjsXcl.dpbs

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "James from Ontario, uses a full size 8.5 x 11 photo of a persons face. "I've tried changing the face. I tried a male and female face. I tried putting the picture on the back of a chair in the room rather than on the window. All have worked. So far the faces I have tried have all been in color and they have filled the 8.5x11 page. James said. Give it a try, it may work for you."

      this sounds like the best option, and when i say best, i mean most fun, so far. I could put Husband Dion's picture up.

      They ARE very reflective windows. This must be it! Do they nest for 4 months? He is the only cardinal around. poor guy. getting worked up over nothing.

      Delete
  4. OH my gosh...the movie " The Birds" is my all time scariest movie EVER!! that cardinal was an extra in that movie for SURE! Your post as usual is the highlight of my morning!!!


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I saw it in black and white long long ago.

      For a while after watching this movie, I thought a little differently when seeing a spider: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aQ6vg3JB2U

      Delete
  5. I found a little robin in my flower bed last Sunday afternoon. He was trying to fly but just couldn't cut it. I got him a drink of water and that seemed to liven him up a bit. I was really concerned that if he soon didn't get the hang of flying some mean predator would have him for supper. I coaxed him to fly from step to step on the stairs that goes from our courtyard to the bank above it. He fluttered up under the apple tree and I crept down into the courtyard behind the wall to watch. In not more than an instant six huge robins encircled my little friend and cheered him on. I quietly went in to the house to get a bucket of water for the bird bath and when I returned he had flown away. In the world of wildlife and human life......nothing beats the encouragement of a support group. They can be real life savers.

    ReplyDelete

Any nice reader may comment, either as "anonymous" or with an id.

Click on "comment as" and scroll for choices. A successful comment is published immediately.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...