I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance than I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn. ~Henry David Thoreau
You don’t have to hang around me long to know how much I love birds. Magical moments in my life have been having chickadees feed out of my hand or the time ducks landed all around me as I sat beside a pond feeding them. The blue jays swooping in for peanuts, the mourning doves in the winter trees, the pheasants coming to feed in the back field, evening grosbeaks hulling sunflower seeds and the hummingbirds arriving on May 7th every year, all thrill my soul.
And many of you, my readers, also know my friend Rebekah who loves ducks and not only loves them but takes amazing pictures of them. Check out her “wing tips” post and no, it’s not pictures of shoes!
I’ve recently made a new friend, through a group I belong to on Facebook. First thing that brought her to my attention is that she loves crows! A kindred spirit right there. Oh, if you’ve never watched The Nature of Things episode called A Murder of Crows and you’re looking for something fascinating to watch on a wintry evening, here’s the link to the full episode.
Going back to my new-found crow friend, we got talking about blogs and I encouraged her to start one here on WordPress and she did! And………….she not only loves crows, she loves birds, period. And………….she takes wonderful pictures of birds………….and she sketches birds………………………..and…………..oh, just go over and check out her blog called Happy Hermit Art
You’ll be glad you stopped by, I promise.


Jan 16, 2013 @ 21:33:39
Isn’t it so magical to come upon kindred spirits…truly a joy!
Jan 14, 2013 @ 16:12:27
You’re right. I’m glad I stopped by. I love the art.
Jan 14, 2013 @ 16:44:47
Her work is lovely, isn’t it?
Jan 13, 2013 @ 21:47:58
Since I trust your good taste dear Joss am off to visit!
Jan 13, 2013 @ 21:53:22
Jan 13, 2013 @ 20:14:11
It seems more important to feed the birds when it is cold. Thanks for the suggestion to visit the other blogs which I did.
Jan 13, 2013 @ 21:02:24
For sure. They need a lot of extra fuel in the winter to keep warm. I love introducing friends to friends.
Jan 13, 2013 @ 17:12:22
Thanks for the recommendations, Joss. I will check these out. Sorry to have been so absent in the past week. It’s been a wild one for me. Missed reading your posts.
Hugs,
Kathy
Jan 13, 2013 @ 21:03:04
Always happy to see you here. It’s been a busy week here with my hubby having cataract surgery on Thursday.
Jan 13, 2013 @ 11:07:54
Wow!
Jan 13, 2013 @ 09:44:16
I love birds so much and can’t imagine a world without them. Here in the Southwest we have ravens and their ability to make different sounds is amazing – I heard one sound like a car horn once. I have also rescued hummingbirds, nesting them in my hand until they regain their strength and breath – it is a privilege to hold one. I looked out the window this week and saw a huge white crane swooping around. Breathtaking.
Jan 13, 2013 @ 21:04:00
There is something very precious about holding a bird in your hand. Thank you for blessing the hummingbird with rest and healing.
Jan 13, 2013 @ 09:33:34
Thanks for the shout-out, Joss!
Jan 13, 2013 @ 21:08:28
You are most welcome Stacie. Glad to have you as part of my little community here of wondrous people.
Jan 13, 2013 @ 09:27:26
Isn’t it magical when we meet kindred spirits?
Jan 13, 2013 @ 21:04:39
It really is. Blogging has introduced me to some amazing people.
Jan 13, 2013 @ 05:22:20
I, too have a love of birds, fostered in me by my parents, as I was growing up. We kept chickens and Muscovy ducks, incubating eggs above the Rayburn and I had my very own duckling called Piper ~ because of the noise he made! I inherited a number of bird books and paintings too. Great post, Joss, bringing back happy memories. Thank you
Jan 13, 2013 @ 21:05:32
There’s something special about birds. I remember seeing a bald eagle for the first time when we visited the Kennedy space Centre in Florida. Made my day!
Jan 13, 2013 @ 03:58:48
a beautiful and inspiring post… i too watch/love birds tho have not had any land on me except a little hummer. and that was a pushy one and was getting me up to feed him
lovely-enjoy your birds.
Jan 13, 2013 @ 21:07:46
They really do have personality, don’t they?
Jan 12, 2013 @ 22:56:56
Love the pictures and wiill be sure to check out your friends site shortly and will be back to check out those links. Just filling in a sleepless night checjing in via phone. So script so tiny eyes are blurr lol. Have a great rest of the weekend – Sue
Jan 13, 2013 @ 21:07:14
take care of you, dear Sue.
Jan 12, 2013 @ 21:38:30
Hey …and thanks for the ping
Went right over and checked out her new blog … very nice!
I think I’ve said it before, but still … it’s such an amazing feeling when the chickadee eats out of your had … to feel that little life, sitting on your finger!
Or looking an eagle in the eyes, feeling your neck hair stand up ..in awe, that I’m so blessed to meet someone like that most people have never seen in real life.
I love the crows and they fascinate me …even more after I’d watched that show. It was amazing!
Jan 12, 2013 @ 21:55:30
It really is amazing when those tiny birds land on your hand. I’m like you, I can’t say it enough. Thanks for checking out Stacie’s blog. I’m looking forward to seeing more of her pictures. I’ve watched that show a few times and just love it. Crows are so intelligent.
Jan 13, 2013 @ 09:39:09
I tell everyone who will listen about that Crow documentary! I have watched it several times. It has turned a few Crow-haters into, at the very least, Crow-Respecters.
Jan 13, 2013 @ 09:52:38
That’s a good thing!
Never hated crows [or any bird/animal], but just before that documentary, I’d started to take an interest in them… There were a couple of crows, that I’d given a few peanuts, most every day, and I had the impression that they seemed to recognize … not only me, but the CAR. They didn’t care about any of the other cars arriving, but ours…
Jan 13, 2013 @ 16:58:57
Very cool!
Jan 13, 2013 @ 21:06:37
That’s really neat Rebekah. And after watching that documentary I’m convinced they did recognize you and your car. How neat is that?