In keeping with the going trend…I will post another time about books and birds. This week’s bird of the week is a female Pine Siskin and Anna’s Hummingbird.

Female Pine Siskin

Female Pine Siskin

Female Pine Siskin

Female Pine Siskin

Anna's Hummingbird

Anna's Hummingbird

I really enjoy these little birdies. =) They are fun to watch, relaxing even. I would be hardpressed to think of a better day than a breezy Spring day relaxing with a good book and an unobstructed view of the birdies. These are the books I am currently reading—I know I haven’t given a thorough review of my last ones yet but I will get to it eventually.

I have always enjoyed handwritten correspondence. I like paper, envelopes and stamps. I like the impression left on the paper with the pen filling with ink on the paper. I like the feel of the paper under my hands. I like to post them and I like to receive them. I am always searching for new pretty paper with matching envelopes. I even use holiday paper… I know, I am a geek. =) I also like to pick interesting stamps. I have for many years. I think the flag stamps are boring (patriotic but…boring). I used the Breast Cancer Awareness stamps as default for a long time. Each stamp meant a few more cents towards Breast Cancer research. I am a sucker for a good cause coupled with something I enjoy—like writing letters or sending mail.

I’ve slacked a bit in my writing the past few years. Tsk, tsk. I will try to work on that.  I did order some stamps recently. I had some of the Breast Cancer Awareness stamps and some Edgar Allen Poe stamps (because I love his work) but I wanted to buy a bird stamp (to celebrate International Migratory Bird Day 2009) so I went to the UPSP site and started looking. Here is what I ordered.

The 2004-2005 Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp—the Redheads (in my honor hahahaha). It is a $15 stamp but it is not mailable. It is purely for conservation means. The money is donated to the National Wildlife Refuge System to help maintain the 5-million-plus acres of habitat.

2004-2005 Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp

Next, I came upon the Alzheimer’s stamp and thought of my dearest friend whose grandfather is struggling with memory issues. Naturally, I ordered them.

Alzheimer Awareness Stamp

And last but not least I got some stamps from my birth state. I will leave you guessing on that one.

I am still in pursuit of some cool new paper but I am simply not finding any. However, I did find this most interesting journal. I ordered it for someone special. It arrived yesterday. It is plantable. Brilliant idea. It is symbolic as well as earth friendly (made with post-consumer recycled paper and plantable!). It is perfect for anyone who needs to grow through some pain. Write it out and plant it.

Two constants in my life are books and birds—that is not to say there are not other constants but these two stand out for me right now. I wish to share the books I am reading with you and the birds that are coming to my feeders. I have four feeders and 2 bird houses. This is quite the feat considering I live in an apartment and all of those are on my balcony. Hahahaha. I do so love my birds.

Anna's Hummingbird

I have better photos but this one I took just a few moments ago — and so I thought it would be the best to share. I will also share a photo of a female house finch that visits regularly.

Female House Finch

I really enjoy watching and listening to the birds. This week has been sunny and they haven’t missed a note in enjoying the newly come spring time weather. They were flying in elaborate aerial patterns trying to impress potential mates. They were singing pretty for all to hear. I like spring and I like birds.

I am currently reading the following books.

Women of the Asylum by Jeffrey L. Geller and Maxine Harris

This book is a collection of personal accounts by women who were locked away in the mental institutions against their will. It is sad but revealing. Not so much has changed for women and mental health.

Lover of Unreason: Assia Wevill, Sylvia Plath's Rival and Ted Hughes Doomed Love

This is the biography of Assia Wevill—Ted Hughes’ second wife who committed suicide, taking her daughter’s life with her own. I will let you know in detail what I think of this book when I finish it.

I am reading a few for classes but I won’t share these with you unless you really want to know…then you can leave a comment. I will also give thorough reviews of these books when I am finished with them.

Yes, I am a fully trained-human. The crows have me trained. I started feeding them on a regular basis a few months back. I put bread out on my porch and they take it. I did this daily for a few weeks. Its fun for me, I know, I am a geek. At any rate, I discovered the crows prefer peanuts to bread and so I switched to leaving gobs of peanuts every morning on my porch. There has been a learning curve here but not for the birds, for me.

They caw, then wait for their peanuts. This is a daily routine.

Lesson 1 in the crows training program was teaching me their preferential diet. I learned they preferred peanuts over bread. They would leave the bread for last and gobble up the peanuts like they were going out of style.

Lesson 1 (a): Neighbors do not appreciate when you leave peanuts (or bread) on the shared walkway/porch. They get angry and show this anger in passive-aggressive ways, such as sweeping aggressively outside your door while hitting it repeatedly and forcefully with each stroke. Then later opening the door quickly trying to “catch” you feeding the birds, only to smile and shut their door calmly as if it doesn’t matter, never saying anything to you. I learned it was better to place the peanuts (and/or bread) on the ledge of the porch, rather than the walkway, and sweep up the mess after every feeding.

Lesson 2: Scheduled feedings. I have an irregular schedule. The birds…not so much. It just so happened that I would feed the birds in the morning when everyone left. It was a fluke really, not intended to create a pattern. The birds thought otherwise. One day I forgot to put peanuts out and they began cawwing. How cute. =) It reminded me to put the peanuts out, and so I did. A few days go by, I remember to feed them, no problem. Then, I fell asleep on my couch one morning and did not put peanuts out for them, oops. They tried to cawww outside my door but I was too sleepy. I thought to myself, “self, they can wait.” This didn’t go over very well with the crows. They cawwed and cawwed for about a half hour. Then they decided to take it a step further. They went onto the roof and to my chimney and started cawwing down it. It echoed down my unused fireplace and throughout my acoustically-amplified apartment. They were determined to get me to feed them. And I did.

And now I am officially trained. They know how to get me to feed them and do so on a regular basis, much to the chagrin of my neighbors. =/ Oops.

I think a peanut dispenser is the logical next step for us, the birds and me. Any suggestions on how I can train them?

Reap what you sow, McCain.

It would seem McCain doesn’t want to discuss the economy anymore. He would rather “turn the page” on this issue (he clearly doesn’t understand how important it is right now) and start his ridiculous lying campaign against Obama again. This is stupid. McCain WILL NOT and CAN NOT help us economically, he is corrupt. He was almost convicted once of an economic crime at what he described as the lowest point of his life. He is not trustworthy.

Read all about it for yourself.

THE KEATING SCANDAL

The ABC’s of the Keating Scandal

“Like bones to the human body, the axle to the wheel, the wing to the bird, and the air to the wing, so is liberty the essence of life. Whatever is done without it is imperfect.”

– Jose Marti