Just a fun photo..

Birding and Remembering Lonnie Brown

I'm a birder. Yes, I love birds. Wild ones. About twenty years ago, Lonnie Brown piqued my interest in birds. I thought it an interesting hobby, but not one I was likely to pick up. We would sit in their breakfast room and watch birds and squirrels come up to the feeders on their deck. Lonnie could identify all of them and loved to watch them. It was always fun to see him get excited when a more rare bird would happen by.

Fast forward about 10 years. I married a birder. When he put up our first feeder..and not what you would think of as a feeder, (think 18x24 inch platform on a post out of the ground) I teased him a little. But then the birds started to show up. They loved the thistle, the black sunflower seeds, and the bits of nut and dried cherries. I quickly learned their names. Missouri has some gorgeous birds and we have always seen a huge variety...even the elusive blue bird.

Fast forward another 10 years. Since we've lived at the parsonage, we've not had a bird feeder. I've missed my wild, colorful friends. Shortly after Lesh came home from the hospital, I took the Armada to Home Depot and had them load a 14 ft. square post on my ski racks (which never get used for anything to do with skiing, unfortunately) and drove home carefully. Lesh was able to help some of the kids in our youth group build a new bird feeder. About three weeks ago, he finally had the strength to use the post hole diggers and put it up. It is posted in the ground and stands 12 feet tall so that I can see it from our french doors. It is no more than one foot from the door, so our view is amazing.

These are the beaked friends who have come calling in the past few weeks: tufted titmouse, chickadees, nuthatches, juncos, blue jays, male and female cardinals, yellow and purple finches, downy woodpeckers, yellow-bellied sap suckers (wood peckers), and the gorgeous pileated woodpecker.

Feeding them is like an adventure. You never know who might drop in. It's inexpensive entertainment and Jonah and Jude are learning the names of the birds. We can count on Jude to go growl at the occasional squirrel that scales our feeder to feast on the sunflower seeds. Jonah has learned to sit quietly so that he can watch the birds and learn their behavior patterns and names.

Thanks Lonnie for introducing me to birding. It's a simple pleasure I have come to enjoy. I think of you often and will never forget our bird watching sessions.