Up and down the street, the Ornamental Pears are in full bloom. Even the dandelions are flowering. It’s another beautiful sunny day. A bit nippy though. I opened the window and have a knit throw over my lap and fingerless gloves on while I type. But this morning's local weather report shows a spring monsoon is about to settle in (SW Ohio) for the next week or so. And I've so enjoyed having the windows open!
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I am so grateful to my neighbor for her help in feeding the birds. She is quite able to keep her feeder filled to the brim. I, on the other hand, am no longer able to do so. Instead, I fill the trough with a few scoopfuls of seed, and then sprinkle another few upon the ground, along with the planter-turned-feeder [by accidental proxy] that’s right under the front window. I’m also quite thankful two of neighborhood strays are no longer attacking my birds. Yes! When they’re at my feeders, they’re MY BIRDS! It was quite disheartening last fall, when the mottled tiger cat killed one of the Red-wingeds.
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I was downstairs, in the living room, when I heard the ruckus and scream just outside the window. I rose up from the couch, as fast as I could, and went to see what happened. There, crumpled and writhing on the ground, laid a male Red-winged Blackbird. Blood oozed from a wound to his head. I hurried outside whispering, “Oh no! NO!” I’m not so much mad at the cat. He did only what stray cats do. But MOST of us, keep our cats INSIDE.
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I bent forward and picked up the seemingly small bird. He made no protest. His life force quietly ebbed. Blood trailed across my fingers from the mortal wound. And little by little, his head lowered until his coal-black beak rested gently upon the palm of my hand. He took his last breath, and I felt the beat of his heart— stop. I would hear him sing his arrival at the feeders, no more.
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This season, there are three male Red-wingeds that, well— though one is a Juvenal; his yellow band is still small and a faded yellow, where one is, the other two are not far behind. And I always know when they are here. Their song is quite bold.
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And what, as you might be inclined to ask, is my nail file doing on the floor? Well, 1) I relegated that file, many years ago now, to my design tools drawer. It's quite handy at cleaning up rough edges on man-made beads. And 2) After leaving it out, on top of the work table, Lucy targeted it as the perfect cat toy. Go figure! She carries it around, upstairs and back down, crying like she's just caught one of those rabbit-fur mousies. But what's most special is when she brings it around to the back of the desk and gifts it next to me.
.
I am so grateful to my neighbor for her help in feeding the birds. She is quite able to keep her feeder filled to the brim. I, on the other hand, am no longer able to do so. Instead, I fill the trough with a few scoopfuls of seed, and then sprinkle another few upon the ground, along with the planter-turned-feeder [by accidental proxy] that’s right under the front window. I’m also quite thankful two of neighborhood strays are no longer attacking my birds. Yes! When they’re at my feeders, they’re MY BIRDS! It was quite disheartening last fall, when the mottled tiger cat killed one of the Red-wingeds..
I was downstairs, in the living room, when I heard the ruckus and scream just outside the window. I rose up from the couch, as fast as I could, and went to see what happened. There, crumpled and writhing on the ground, laid a male Red-winged Blackbird. Blood oozed from a wound to his head. I hurried outside whispering, “Oh no! NO!” I’m not so much mad at the cat. He did only what stray cats do. But MOST of us, keep our cats INSIDE.
.
I bent forward and picked up the seemingly small bird. He made no protest. His life force quietly ebbed. Blood trailed across my fingers from the mortal wound. And little by little, his head lowered until his coal-black beak rested gently upon the palm of my hand. He took his last breath, and I felt the beat of his heart— stop. I would hear him sing his arrival at the feeders, no more.
.
This season, there are three male Red-wingeds that, well— though one is a Juvenal; his yellow band is still small and a faded yellow, where one is, the other two are not far behind. And I always know when they are here. Their song is quite bold.
.
And what, as you might be inclined to ask, is my nail file doing on the floor? Well, 1) I relegated that file, many years ago now, to my design tools drawer. It's quite handy at cleaning up rough edges on man-made beads. And 2) After leaving it out, on top of the work table, Lucy targeted it as the perfect cat toy. Go figure! She carries it around, upstairs and back down, crying like she's just caught one of those rabbit-fur mousies. But what's most special is when she brings it around to the back of the desk and gifts it next to me..
I'm reminded of the time I stood in the cat aisle of one of the large pet store chains, looking at the wall of cat toys. A very nice woman walked up beside me and said, "I just got a cat. I've never had a cat before. What kind of toys do they like?" I laughed and replied, "Probably nothing you're going to find here!" I then proceeded to help pick out a few basic toys.
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I polished up two poems, yesterday, and sent them off; out into the big wide world. I cannot hold their hands any longer. I also cannot but fret. Will they hold their own? Will they make new friends and/or influence lots of people? Or will they return from their grand adventure with nary a word? No story to tell. Leaving me to wonder where I went wrong?
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Can't worry on that now!
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As for what I can accomplish today? Tuesday's post was rather long, and the time it took to flesh out took a toll on my back. Yesterday I tried to catch up on some reading; blog posts, etc. And today's post is running longer than I first intended. So, I need to take a break from this chair this afternoon. I need to get my legs up and head back. I will NOT be back up here this evening.
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But. After sorting through all of those files last week, I pulled out a few folders and topics to focus on, i.e., notes of my recent experience with bean sprouting; three Diary of a Prisoner blog entries [When Last I Saw Him, Honoring the Dead, & The Day the Music Died]; and yes, I’m actually still considering Script Frenzy. I’m not going to sweat missing the first day out of the gate. But I pulled all of my notes, research, and storyboard cards. Everything is ready. Except for loading Final Draft. I'm not going to sweat that one either!
.
As for what I can accomplish today? Tuesday's post was rather long, and the time it took to flesh out took a toll on my back. Yesterday I tried to catch up on some reading; blog posts, etc. And today's post is running longer than I first intended. So, I need to take a break from this chair this afternoon. I need to get my legs up and head back. I will NOT be back up here this evening.
.
But. After sorting through all of those files last week, I pulled out a few folders and topics to focus on, i.e., notes of my recent experience with bean sprouting; three Diary of a Prisoner blog entries [When Last I Saw Him, Honoring the Dead, & The Day the Music Died]; and yes, I’m actually still considering Script Frenzy. I’m not going to sweat missing the first day out of the gate. But I pulled all of my notes, research, and storyboard cards. Everything is ready. Except for loading Final Draft. I'm not going to sweat that one either!
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So, that should keep me busy on the couch for a while. That and the following.
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For the month of April:
- This article rekindled my interest in the Day at the Marsh picture book proposal. [Thank you, Lea, for the Tweet & Follow] Lots of CDs to sort through.
- Script Frenzy--REMEMBRANCE
- Tuesday’s Tips & Friday Five Favorites
- My annual Earth Day Letter [which still has me- Oy! I'm totally clueless. I don't have the first word yet.]
- How Would You Live blog post [an email this morning, went a long way in reviving this one]
- Renewal Journal blog post
- Update Pearls of Wisdom
- Edit Blogger Bio
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Non-writing-related:
- With my next trip to grocery, I’m going to experiment with dehydrating onions and celery. [This relates to another article/blog post, i.e., bean sprouting]
- Work on building a website for a friend.
- Need to finish the small handbag that I designed last year.
That’s aLOT for me!!!! It's not all going to happen. But this gives me a plan, at least, from which to work. I'd better go.
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Blessings,
Posts
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