Early Birds

Today dawned in a fuzzy haze. Starlings---who are not darlings in my mind’s eye---basked in the misty golden glow. Would you believe early white settlers of the New World brought starlings over here with them from Europe! That’s mind-boggling to me. Of all birds, why bring messy, homely, annoying starlings? Apparently---so I’ve read---having these birds around was somehow a comfort and counteracted homesickness. Like I said…..mind-boggling!

That’s a stray barn swallow wing protruding from the corner in the above photo. The wing may belong to one of the two swallows in the next scene. They spend their days dive-bombing through the air, feasting on flies and gnats.

Speaking of bothersome birds, when my daughter called from Germany yesterday, she talked about pigeons. On the train trip to Munich, she was dismayed to find that the pigeons are very friendly, flying around in the train stations and winging their way in and out of shops in the towns. Mostly, Daughter didn’t care for the fact that the birds could be found overhead even in areas where people were eating. And, she said, “Mom, a pigeon targeted my head!” I thought she meant she was a recipient of a specialized calling card, but no……a pigeon bumped right into her forehead! She also mentioned that there are rows of nails in place along the tops of signs and other potential pigeon perching places, to discourage the birds from sitting in those areas and leaving remembrances.

I apologize if this shocks anyone, but here in farm country, people often shoot pigeons! It seems every farmstead has a flock of the gray and white birds and ours is no exception. The abode of our pigeon congregation is high up in the loftiest reaches of the silos. They surely must love us and feel comfortable here, for we haven’t made any attempts to thin their population for several years.

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Have a great day! (Gramma Ann……how are you? Last evening, I heard reports about flash flooding happening in your town.)

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