Wednesday, November 16, 2016

INDOOR STATIONARY BIRDING

The name of this Icelandic geyser is "Geyser"
That's where the name comes from

Last winter I wrote a Facebook post about a senior-suitable activity I called stationary birding.  For those who missed it, click on this:


Well, my hip is hurting so much today that all I want to do is sit in the recliner by the sliding glass door leading to my front deck.  That being so, I decided to scatter bird seed on the deck, then sit back with a bird book and practice INDOOR STATIONARY BIRDING.  It was a qualified success.
On the plus side I was able to enjoy studying  the feeding behaviors of several species of birds: the dark eyed junco, the spotted towhee, the northern flicker, and the Steller’s jay.  On the minus side, I came away from the experience with painfully lacerated legs.  This leads me to some important advice:  Do not engage in stationary birding with a cat in your lap!

Many of you will know my cat, Creampuff.  Creampuff is fat, lazy, docile and cowardly.  (She is also a pretty, soft and loveable.)  If Creampuff faced off with a junco – let alone a jay – I would bet on the bird.  She also loves a lap.  This morning when I was dozing (indoor stationary birding is not exactly an exciting sport), Creampuff launched herself from my lap at the nearby glass door, in the process excavating small pits in my thighs.  Apparently in her DNA or racial memory  lies something that tells her that birds are her enemies.  Lucky for her the glass door saved her; had she landed on the deck itself (rather than colliding with the door), the Steller’s jay would have pecked the snot out of her.

So, to modify the advice, above: if you must practice stationary birding with a cat in tour lap, make use of a very thick towel. 



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