Thursday, May 30, 2013

This bird is named after a cat?  Go figure.  They say he imitates the mewing of a cat.  Come to think of it, I guess maybe they do.  I remember years ago at my cabin in Wisconsin, I would wake up on the porch to their songs.  Then as over the years, as the habitat changed subtly, they seemed to vanish.  I am hearing them all the time now, as I walk along the RR tracks near my house.  They are much more vociferous these days.  In fact I thought at first that I was listening to a Baltimore Oriole.  There a quite a few of them around also, so they are probably mimicking them.  Being in the Mockingbird family, that is what they do.  Good to have them around!


The American robin



Subject: Bird of the Day                           The American Robin

Well, he's back.  In fact he has been back for quite a while...and so
have I.  Having worked my way through the shoulder business, I finally
returned to the living at about the same time these guys arrived in
Minnesota...early April.  I'm not sure if it is a recent phenomenon ,
but a sizable population of robins seem to be hanging around here for
the winter months..they flock up in large numbers.  Global warming?
Who knows.

Speaking of phenomenona, I have been blessed with my own...Anxiety
attacks!  I wake up at midnight in a panic, feeling claustrophobic and
crazy.  At first I thought I was having a heart attack, then I learned
what it was.  I gotta get out of the house right away, and walk for 30
minutes or so.  Fortunately I have a dog who walks with me, dispelling
the notion in the neighborhood at 1 AM, that I am a prowler.  Sometimes
I'll drive out to my ex-wife's house and play scrabble.  How crazy is
that!  Then my close friend Stu made me aware of the term,
"Mindfulness". This, in a nutshell means not thinking about tomorrow,
but "living in the moment".
Seems to help.  I feel bad about not paying my bills, but they are
simply "not in the moment".  Certainly walking everyday, hassling
robins and other birds keeps me "in the Moment".

Anyway....glad to be back