This Hodgepodge is for the Birds

Backyard, December 3, 2013

It's coming, fellow Wisconsinites. You know it.

In looking through photo files for 'bird,' I came upon this one taken last winter (technically, last fall), taken of our backyard. It makes my blood run cold. And to think that December 3 is only a bit over a month away!

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1. My hubs spent last weekend pheasant hunting. Are there hunters in your family? If so, what do they hunt? Which of the following have you tasted-pheasant, rabbit, venison, duck, goose? Which of those would you most like to taste, or be most willing to taste?

There are a couple hunters in our family, for which I apologize annually to the deer in the area. Our woods is off limits. In spite of the fact that they hunt year after year, I will not let them hunt in our woods. It's a nice refuge for our deer and I don't want to betray them (the deer).

I've eaten pheasant, rabbit, venison, and duck. The pheasant was good. The others I would happily give my share to someone else. I would have to be assured that the venison was smothered in something delicious in order to kill the gamey taste. Yech.

My favorite hunter

He mostly hunts for candy.

Vegetarians keep calm and Hodgepodge on.

2. What high spot have you visited that gave you a wonderful 'bird's eye view' of something below?

 View from The London Eye

Along with the London Eye, there are a few others:
From the top of York Minster
Tower on Confederate Drive in Gettysburg
Tower (now gone) on Cemetery Ridge in Gettysburg
Our silo (50 feet - short by today's standards) that I climbed, only once, when I was a kid
From the top of the Ferris wheel at the fair 

 From York Minster

3.  Do you have any birds in your home? These could be either real live pets or decorative, as in bird prints, knickknacks, fabric or pottery.

 Almost in the house; just on the other side of the glass

Can you see the sunflower seed in his beak?

 Darling little ceramic S&P

Given to me by Judy of 20 North Ora

It was such a sweet delight to receive these cute birds in the mail!

 Love this little bird from my mom

4. Tell about a time you 'killed two birds with one stone'?

Canning green beans or carrots or tomatoes while doing crossword puzzles.
Going for a walk while getting photos for my blog.
Working in the garden while listening to a Rick Steves travel podcast.
Riding my recumbent exercise bike while watching YouTube videos - my favorites right now are N.T. Wright and Rick Steves.
Reading my Kindle while trying to go to sleep. :-)

I never claimed they were brilliant.

5. Your favorite song with a bird in it's title?

His Eye is on the Sparrow, sung by Ethel Waters.  I heard that song a lot when I was young. I think it was in the context of the Billy Graham Crusades on TV. 


From IMDB.com:

"The child of a teenage rape victim, Ethel Waters grew up in the slums of Philadelphia and neighboring cities, seldom living anywhere for more than a few weeks at a time. "No one raised me, " she recollected, "I just ran wild." She excelled not only at looking after herself, but also at singing and dancing; she began performing at church functions, and as a teenager was locally renowned for her "hip shimmy shake". In 1917 she made her debut on the black vaudeville circuit; billed as "Sweet Mama Stringbean" for her tall, lithe build, she broke through with her rendition of "St. Louis Blues", which Waters performed in a softer and subtler style than her rivals, Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith..."  Read the rest of David Smith's mini bio of Ethel Waters HERE.

The joy that lit up her face because of what Jesus had done in her life was evident every time Ethel Waters sang 'His Eye is on the Sparrow.'

6. What most recently gave you goose bumps?

 I know he doesn't look very scary here, but...

I'm not really a goose bumps kind of person. I'm either not scared at all or scared to death. It's usually Mr. Cranberry that scares me by walking into the room I'm in when I don't know he's there. I suddenly see him and scream. I don't know why, exactly. It's not like he chases me with a chainsaw or anything. When I accuse him of scaring me, he always laughs and says, 'I didn't try to scare you. If I had TRIED to scare you...' and then he continues laughing while I try to get my heart rate to calm down. Sigh.

7. Halloween is this Friday...any plans? Did you trick or treat as a child? Carve pumpkins? Share your most memorable costume.

Well, we've got all this hazmat stuff around here, including Tyvek suits, helmets, booties, gloves, and respirators, so I thought I could go as...Oh nevermind.

via

It seems that when I was a child, back when the earth was young, it was warmer on Halloween night than it usually is now. I don't remember buying costumes, but making costumes out of whatever we had around the house - old clothes, maybe some makeup, etc. We walked the country neighborhood in the dark, going to the nearest neighbors within a mile or so. I don't remember having a flashlight. Usually the neighbors gave us homemade cookies, a homemade popcorn ball, or homemade candy, or if we were really lucky, a candy bar.  This was back in the day when making something 'from scratch' actually meant acquiring the ingredients and mixing them in a bowl. Today a tube of cookie dough or crescent rolls broken open and put on a cookie sheet is often considered 'from scratch.' Just sayin'.

Some of you have seen this before, but this is my favorite costume I made for one of our kids - back when. We had a Reformation Day party and Joe dressed up as...

Martin Luther

At school, the kids all walked to the nearby nursing home in their Halloween costumes. The other kids were Ninja turtles, Superman, and the like. I actually think the old Norwegian and German residents at the home would have recognized Martin Luther long before they would have recognized a Ninja turtle.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

My random thought is that I hate daylight savings time, whether it's coming or going. Messes me up for about 2 weeks. It's just like jet lag without the fun of a vacation.  The only good thing about it is that it reminds me to put new batteries in the smoke alarms twice a year.

So what about you? Any thoughts on daylight saving time? Love it? Hate it? 

 

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