See My Valentine?

[ Poor old glasses! ]

February 14 – Now this doesn’t happen very often, well, maybe never just the way it happened a few days ago. Dale was at the computer writing to a friend while I was in the big easy chair in front of the living room window, catching up on some reading. After awhile, I found I had slid way down in the chair, and I was not proud of my posture!

Reaching down to the wooden handle that raises you into a different position, with your legs straight out in front of you, I pushed that handle, my feet did swing out, and unfortunately right smack into the tray that Dale uses when we eat in the living room. I noticed much too late, that his reading glasses were resting atop that tray! I was almost afraid to look, but jumped out of the chair and pulled up the fallen tray. There on the floor, was one half of those glasses. The incident with that tray sliced off, just perfectly, the ear piece!

[ Some of Dale’s polished stones ]

Quickly picking it up, I took it and the rest of the glasses to Dale. “Look what I did,” I mumbled. He took the glasses minus the broken-off piece and stuck them on his ears. “How do you like that?” he asked. I can still see pretty well. Who needs that eye piece?” Just like Dale to try to take things in stride and keep me from feeling really down. “Oh, and don’t forget,” he added. “I have two or three more pairs of those things around the house, on the table, on the dresser, and maybe more.” Well, he really knows how to make bad happenings better!” And that’s what makes a real Valentines Day, chocolate, flowers, and polished stones  notwithstanding!

I am wondering where in the world the huge number of birds stays that are always just waiting for Dale to take their food out for them each morning, and often in the afternoons as well. Before the food goes out, there’s hardly a bird around, but even before Dale can get into the garage after putting out suet, millet, sunflower seeds, the birds have arrived.

[ Birds last February when we actually HAD snow on the ground ]

Striking cardinals, at least a dozen, fly in right on cue; bright and kingly looking blue jays arrive as well; red headed woodpeckers, downy woodpeckers, and flickers are there for some nourishment, while at least fifty or more juncos are rushing here and there getting the seeds, then flying off into the near by trees.

This morning all kinds of birds were sitting in the two nearby trees, waiting, but I don’t know why. There was more than plenty in the feeder and on the big cement slab.

[ Woodpecker portrait ]

Woodpeckers are just about always taking their and more than their share of the suet. A number of the larger birds gather at the water dish trying to bash their beaks on the surface hard enough to get a drink. As soon as Dale has dumped out any ice and filled the bowl with water, a line has formed, each bird waiting for the others to fly off, so he can get a drink before going back to the seeds.

Speaking of birds, a few days ago as we were looking out the big front window, we saw a large flock of geese flying over the Reynolds’ fields going north. Another group soon followed, then another, and then a very large flock. Standing closer to the window, I told Dale to watch as more were coming. “I can see them from here,” he said, but when the flights continued, even he got up from the easy chair to watch. Most of the flocks were large, but three or four of them had enough geese in their group to count as a double flight. After a total of TWENTY, the most we have seen at one time, the birds must have flown from their original places and there were none left to count.

Just the day before on our way home from town, we passed a big pond with about one hundred geese enjoying their time together with plenty to drink or just to enjoy the company of others like themselves. – CHRIS