My Bird Watching Journal for Blaire

I was that neighbor that could not understand feeding the birds...letting the bird seed fall in your yard and grow small sunflowers or bean looking like plants. It never made sense to me to invite the birds to be in your yard..poop all over your fence and nest in your trees. Disease, expense, weeds...etc. My passion started with my mother, of course, feeding the hummingbirds...and what a miracle it was to see those extremely small animals zooming around eating out of the feeders. I thought, well it could not hurt, having sugar water in a feeder. Those birds could not poop much and obviously sugar water would not grow in the ground....so I plunged. That is where the obsession started. I now feed Finches(red and yellow), Orioles, Red-Winged Black Birds, Mocking Birds, Grosbeaks, Doves, Hummingbirds and most recently the Missouri State Bird - Missouri Bluebird. My husband actually first sighted this beautiful little bird. He noticed it eating some safflower off the ground and called me in...I immediately summoned everyone in the house to silence and Jeff to get the camera. I was able to get some pretty great shots, for being in my kitchen the whole time, with everyone under strict instruction to not move...and breath slowly. My yellow finches shared their thistle sock very well. There are normally 4 yellow finches on the sock with a couple, waiting in line, on the rope. The red finches are close by to move in, while the others take a break. The Bluebird took his sweet time making sure he was done before moving on. He has visited a couple days in a row. Soooo....in all the excitement, I decided to share the news with one of my girlfriends, whose interests are FAR from flowers and birds..and more into things like....ADULT KICKBALL...seriously. So I mentioned to her today that I had the State Bird in my backyard. Her reaction(s)...."NO WAY GIRRRL" "YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME" "WOW" All mocking me in every way. She thinks it is hilarious that I actually notice the birds in my backyard, let alone feed them. I have come to terms that she is actually just very jealous that I have birds in my backyard and she did not even know that Missouri had a state bird(well she knew...but that would of not been as funny)...but with all that aside...she did ask that I journal my sightings(all in sarcasm of course) and I knew she would find this posting very entertaining. So, Blaire, the Missouri State Bluebird is the BLUE Bird on the sock. ;o) Gotta love me!!