A Bird in the House is Worth…

[ The proverbial ‘bird in the hand’ ]

November 30 – This last Monday morning Chris opened the door into the garage that leads into the kitchen, and in flew a bird that must have been locked in the garage overnight. It flew right to the ceiling fan and perched on one of the blades.

Chris got out her camera and took a couple of pictures of the bird, and then it decided to explore further and flew into our bedroom. We followed quickly and shut the door behind us and then set about pursuing the bird. It sure was fast and active! We chased it hither and yon and it was always well ahead of us, perching on furniture briefly and then moving on to escape our clutches.

Eventually we picked up our pillows and began trying to block the bird with them. No luck. I went out and got a broom and used it to probe ahead at that bird and keep it flying to exhaustion. Finally it just landed on our bed and I was able to grab it. The pinkish coloring of some of its feathers told that it was a house finch. We admired it, patted its head, and then after Chris took some pictures, I took it to the back door and gave it freedom.

[ Shoveling a path to the feeder ]

Our bird feeder on legs behind the house provides space to spread sunflower seed and white millet, which attract several varieties of birds, especially juncos and blue jays and cardinals. Right now there are quite a few hunting around in the snow, so I suppose I should go out and spread some goodies. I even see a couple of doves.

A major snowstorm fell upon us on Sunday the 25th, preceded by strong winds and then some rain. The storm came in from the west, through Kansas and then to us here in Missouri. Eventually all of our windows were iced over on the outside and we couldn’t see out of any of them. The snow fell and fell. I don’t know how many inches fell on our yard but there were several. Other areas had up to 8 or 9 inches. Churches cancelled services. On the following day schools cancelled and up through the 28th well. Teachers and students and baby-sitters are doubtless delighted. Parents doubtless are not.

[ Backyard snow ]

A few days ago one of our church members passed away after an illness of several weeks. He was related to a number of our church members. Visiting hours were scheduled from 6 to 8 on Tuesday night, with the funeral on Wednesday.

I don’t drive at night anymore, but our son-in-law offered to pick us up last evening on his way to the funeral home, and we gladly accepted. There were a great many people already lined up and it was a long time before we finally arrived at the line of bereaved alongside the casket. I think we were back home at around seven o’clock. A former pastor came down from his present pastorate in Iowa and had the sermon and comforting words this morning. We didn’t go to it, but are sure all went as planned. – DALE