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The (Real) be yourself blog
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The (Real) be yourself blog
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Growing up in West Texas meant that we could have a season of drought or a season in a flatland rain forest. Yes, I realize that seems like an oxymoron, but the point is: don't call me names. One late Spring we'd been through weeks of bone-dry weather, but then the rains came. It was hot, but the rain kept coming. Birds were regular visitors to our yard since my Dad stuffed birdfeeders all the time. The rain really excited the birds, so for days we had sparrows and finches everywhere. The larger birds seemed weighted down by the wet weather after the initial burst, so we didn't see many of the usual pigeons and such. The cats was miserable, stuck inside, watching a buffet of bird meat just hanging out by the window. Then the rain stopped. The heat didn't stop, though, and the smaller birds were thrilled by the full feeders and sunshine. My mother let the cat out to enjoy the sun, knowing the cat had never managed to catch the quick flying prey. I wandered over to the kitchen window in the late afternoon and felt a hint of terror. I could see feathers all over the yard. I wasn't sure what was going on, but this was only a few years after Hitchcock's "The Birds" had hit the theaters. I also saw the cat stalking about the yard, hackles up and eyes glowing. I stood watching. A sparrow took off from the top of the east food fencepost and flew across our yard, but something was off. The fat bird wasn't flying quite right. The next thing I knew, it literally flew into the west fence as though it didn't see the wood. I called out to my parents and headed to the backdoor. Wobbling BirdsI wasn't immediately sure from the feathers everywhere if the cat had already nailed a bird or two, but I hustled her inside anyway. The bird that had flown into the fence was stunned, but seemed to be uninjured. It was my mother who inspected the feeders and realized what was happening. After the disappearance of the bigger birds that usually ate up the food, the heavy rain and the hot sun - the leftover seed had fermented. My Dad had inadvertently been serving the birds the best bird hooch in Hale County. The birds were so buzzed (or downright drunk) that the cat had been happily prepared to hand out FWI tickets and invite the birds to dinner.
I was rather disappointed (along with the cat) when my parents went to work cleaning the feeders and disposing of the boozy bird feast. If we had left the wasted birds and cat, the carnage might have damaged my young mind, though. Then the thousands (17) readers who are here would be deprived of these posts. You can thank my parents!
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AuthorMost of the good stuff about Maddie "Be Yourself" Gee is on the About page, but that page got out of hand. Don't go there. Maddie is an animal expert, a crazy person, and a writer. Full Disclosure - this blog does have Amazon affiliate links in it for products that Maddie likes. Your use of the Amazon links is greatly appreciated, but the intent is just to help keep things running and offer giveaways. You are welcome to search for the items elsewhere if you prefer it. Archives
January 2019
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