local friends

on a not too hot or humid morning, i just adore sitting, coffee in hand, on our tiny deck. i have 2 bird feeders just at the deck railing, one with niger seed for the finches, titmice and chickadees. the other feeder is much larger to hold prime, select, shelled, expensive stuff to attract them all. i really want cardinals, which are regularly around, but dont want to alight on the feeder.

the feeders are about 4 feet from me. and if i sit quietly the birdies will come. generally they dont hang with me. some species are bold and will come, grab a seed and leave...like chickadees and titmice. even a nuthatch might decide to grab a bite. in contrast goldfinches wont come if they see me...i guess its because they are yellow.

but this morning i entertained a young finch, too naive about the world to fear me. i could tell it was young, just looked a bit goofy, hair not combed, gawky movements. he (couldnt tell really) kept coming, finally perched and watched me back. those rapid head tilts, checking me out. after a while he flew down to a porthole on the big feeder. i sat gently drinking my coffee, not stone still, just relaxed. he grabbed a peanut and paused. unlike the others that "run and eat", he stayed perched and just chomped away. then chose another morsel (there are a variety of seeds and nuts in this gourmet mix) and stayed some more.

i loved it. he probably caught hell when he told his folks back at the nest about his audacious

adventure. but maybe he will turn up again tomorrow morning.

alas, we never learn from history

how come when the toilet gets stopped up after a flush,

we never fail to try flushing again??

i mean honestly, when has the second flush EVER solved the

problem?

airport stories 1

yesterday morning i dropped my daughter, jane, off at american airlines. although i expected a hustle bustle morning at the curb, it was absolutely dead. i got out of the car and we took our time with a genuine and warm goodbye hug and then i returned to the car as she gathered her stuff and moved on.

now she had to see the redcap to check in her bag, fill out an i.d. tag, and get boarding passes. and since there was no one in the way or needing the spot, i just drove up a few yards and stopped where she was standing with the guy, doing her stuff.

so i sat in this "no parking" zone, watching to make sure all was well, when i saw an airport police trooper, female, watching me.
im thinking, aw, i better move. yet my common sense little voice said "this is absurd." theres nobody here. and you can make the argument that your passenger is still in the process of unloading from the car, or something like that. i was feeling pretty feisty and just sat there.

just then madam trooper continued to walk slowly past my car, all the while watching me, i mean eyes tight on me. i started gesticulating wildly to show my connection to the young woman with the redcap. madam trooper stopped and approached the car. now im gonna get it, she is going to hassle me.

the woman came to the window, which i obediently opened as my breathing quickened noticeably. she crouched down, crossing her arms on the sash (now what would you call the bottom of an open car window?) and leaned in, still staring so intently.

her voice was stern yet the words seemed to melt...
"is this what you call bamboo?" her squinted eyes widened and she cocked her head.

aw, such relief, the sweat bullets reversed and i had to laugh. she was asking about the color of my car. she had just test driven an rx and she thought it was the same color, which it was.

our conversation continued about shades of colors and she even hailed jane, who didnt even know i was there, to turn back to say goodbye again.

dont you just love happy endings?