Feeding Birds

just briefly today: one of the absolute JOYs of my life has always been the sheer excitement and absolute thrill of having a bird eat from my hand! there is NOTHING like it! I have had chickadees, nuthatch, hummingbirds, parakeets and canary do so! it makes my heart flutter when they show their trust in me, if only for a brief moment. (O, and i almost forgot! once, at a sports show, i had a red tailed hawk eat from my hand! imagine THAT thrill!!!!)

i have been known to stand "frozen" for long, long, blood-running-out-of-my-arms-minutes at a time, exhibiting every ounce of patience i can muster, just for the reward of having the bird land on my thumb, or sip nectar from the feeder in my hand, or grab a sunflower seed, cock its head to look in my eye, then fly....and soon come back for more!

this morning, after having one of my parakeets for five years, cloudy finally showed that trust and came to eat some celery from my hand! i think it was probably only because the newer keet came first and cloudy didn't want whitey to have what she wanted. nevertheless, as they took turns nibbling the leaves, i felt rewarded. my canary rudy has a favorite: broccoli. rudy is jittery, but he will let me hold a broccoli floret for him (til i get tired and finally set it in his treat cup).

once while visiting my in-laws in canada, i delayed filling their feeders to see if the birds would first come for the sunflower seeds from my hand, and it was such a thrill when they did so! it was one of the best half hours of my life, standing there as they came and went and came again.

O! and speaking of birds in hands, my hubby saved a goldfinch the other day, which was very heart warming! even tho we have reflectors on the windows to prevent the birds from crashing, a beautiful goldfinch plowed right into the window and fell to the ground. this big man went out and picked up the dazed little bird and held it in his hands, stroking it gently and speaking softly to it, trying to bring it warmth and comfort. after a period of time, the revived bird shook its head, fluttered it's feathers, and took off in flight and was perfectly fine! had my hubby not comforted him, he could've been plucked up by a hawk while lying on the ground. i was so happy to hear of his part in aiding the fallen little creature, who is just beginning to get his "spring coat" of yellow feathers, changing out of his "grey coat" of winter feathers.

okay, so i was not brief after all. brevity has never been my strong point. but i just wanted to share this today. there are SO MANY thrills and blessings in my life that do not cost a single cent. i feel so blessed! sometimes i look for JOY; other times it is right in front of me. Thank You, God!