Category: birds

There’s Bitchy and There’s Old-lady Bitchy

Posted in aging, birds, bitchiness, cake, caregiver, elderly woman, grocery store, hair dye, hardware store, humor, rats, relationships, vector controlLeave a comment

(re-run) I could’ve called it My Bitchy Saturday but opted instead for the title above.  It started off with the grocery store clerk putting my bag of apples at the bottom of the bag, then placing two dozen eggs, a pound of turkey, and a container of cake on top of them. Yes, I bought… Continue reading There’s Bitchy and There’s Old-lady Bitchy

A is for Air

Posted in air quality, attitude, best, birds, California, contractor, daughter, dogs, family, flowers, fresh air, friends, humor, lunch, memoir, mom, movie, neighborsLeave a comment

If a bluebird ski day is one without a cloud in the sky, then a dog-bird (bird-dog?) day is one where you can open all of your windows and air the doggy smell right out of your (my) house. All that stale winter air that has been recycling through my closed-up house during rain storm… Continue reading A is for Air

The Red-tailed Hawk and the Toddler Fence

Posted in birds, California, children, humor, hunting, Lindsay Wildlife Museum, memoir, Mount Diablo State Park, nature, outdoors, relationships, toddler, worstLeave a comment

(re-run) I’m a bird lover. I feed the song birds and the finches. I have an ongoing water supply in the form of a fountain in my back yard. I’ve planted native plants for the hummingbirds. When I hike, I am thrilled to find a hawk feather to add to my hat. Twenty-odd years ago,… Continue reading The Red-tailed Hawk and the Toddler Fence

Feeling Better

Posted in animals, birdfeeder, birds, Depression, dogs, exercise, food, Iowa, medications, melanoma, memoir, mood, nature, sunshine, ZumbaLeave a comment

(re-run) I have some down days once in a while, but mostly I don’t. I know I’m lucky. I have aligned my life to feel better. Coincidentally, a relative’s therapist told her the five things she needs every day to get out of her funk. Then, if you still feel like crap, go see a… Continue reading Feeling Better

My Two Gophers

Posted in beach, birdfeeder, birds, California, contractor, Coronavirus, Covid 19, cows, gophers, Iowa, memoir, squirrelsLeave a comment

(re-run) Now before you tell me that gophers are solitary creatures and that I only have one gopher, let me explain that I have a little beach house with a gopher and my regular house with a gopher. I am an Iowa girl, living in California. So both houses were bought because of the property… Continue reading My Two Gophers

Help your Mood, Pull some Weeds

Posted in birds, butterflies, California, dogs, foxtails, gardening, insects, lizards, lockdown, memoir, Round-Up, Roundup, weeds1 Comment

(re-run) Yesterday, I made the short trip to my little downtown beach town, got some cash from the ATM, picked up two newspapers, and headed back home. On the way into town, I saw two city workers spraying Roundup on the weeds in the median strip. They were still at it, in the very same… Continue reading Help your Mood, Pull some Weeds

Nature’s Prayer Moment

Posted in birds, California, church, friends, gardening, humor, memoir, nature, relationships, religion, writersLeave a comment

(re-run) Yesterday morning I stepped up to the kitchen sink to fill the tea pot and looked out my window at the flowers exploding in my yard. I glanced over to the fountain where I saw dozens of identical birds taking drinks in a clumped up circle around the top of my round fountain. Their… Continue reading Nature’s Prayer Moment

The Squirrels’ Rude Awakening

Posted in Bay Area, birdfeeder, birds, Caltrans, Jack Russell terrier, memoir, squirrels, treesLeave a comment

The pair of squirrels that used to live in the Valley Oak tree in the yard below mine have gone  AWOL. I can’t blame them. Their habitat was destroyed one rainy day when my neighbors had their trees trimmed.  I was at a memorial service, and when I returned, surprise!  Their Valley Oak (the reason… Continue reading The Squirrels’ Rude Awakening