Happy Monday, dear reader. I hope your weekend was enjoyable and relaxing. If you are a regular blog post reader, you may remember my declaration of doing fifty fun things for my fiftieth year. With the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I got a bit distracted from my goal. However, my friend Jenna has brought me back on track. Jenna is a fun, outgoing individual with a contagious laugh, an effervescent spirit, and a heart of gold. I love my friend Jenna. Last week, Jenna invited The Bean and me to feed the birds with her at Blue Spruce Park.
What is so exciting about feeding birds, you may ask? Well, dear reader, feeding the birds at Blue Spruce is unlike anything this closet bird nerd has ever experienced. A little hollow below the children’s play area is wooded, with benches, a creek, and a little sign to help one identify the local bird population. One should take black sunflower seeds because they are the birds’ favorite food. If you stand very still or sit quietly on one of the rustic benches, place sunflower seeds at the end of your fingertips, and hold out your hand, all types of little birds will alight on your hand, head, or hat, wherever you place the seeds, and they will eat right from your person. It’s absolutely amazing!
I found that the closer I stood to the brush, the more birds came to eat from my hand. The first little bird to land on my hand was a little chickadee. I was thrilled when I felt its little feet land on my fingertips. It was such an odd feeling. And just like that, as quickly as it landed, it was gone in a blink. They are nimble little creatures. What I found even more enjoyable than the birds landing on my hand were the sounds of their little wings and the chirping. At one point, several little birds fluttered around me, bouncing from my hand to low-hanging tree branches singing, chirping, and fluttering about my head. I told Jenna and The Bean I felt like a Disney princess with all the little birds fluttering around me singing their lovely little songs. I was thrilled.
I was able to identify sparrows, chickadees, and one little female downy woodpecker. According to the sign at the park, the bird population changes with the seasons. I can’t wait to see what other bird species come to feed from my hands during the different seasons. It was a fun and enlightening experience.
Our farmland borders Blue Spruce State Park. We have lived here for almost a decade, and this is the first I have gone over the hill to experience hand-feeding the wild birds that populate the park. I suppose, like most locals, we take what is literally in our backyard for granted. I’m grateful Jenna suggested we go together to feed the birds. We have plans to go back on the next warm day, when our schedules permit, to feed the birds and have a picnic. I am greatly looking forward to doing this.
Feeding the birds exemplifies that the little things in life have the most meaning and are more thrilling than a big adventure. It also illustrates that it’s not what one does but who one does things with that make it meaningful. Spending an hour or so with my little bean and Jenna feeding the birds, hanging out, laughing, and learning something new was priceless. Thanks to Jenna for reminding me of my goal of fifty fun things; I’m now back on track. I have five down and forty-five more to go. I’m looking forward to a year filled with fun things with my favorite people.
On this sunny Monday morning near the end of February, stay safe and be smart; if you are local to Blue Spruce Park, I highly recommend feeding the birds, and of course, keep washing your hands, especially after feeding wild birds…insert a wink and a smile.
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