Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Dragonflies and Dumb and Dumber Birds!

Imagine my surprise, the other day, when I opened a package expecting to find a book and also found this! Lisa, from Greenbow, and I are sharing books on gardening. She sends me one, I send her one. With this one was a note saying she had started out to make me a bookmark and got a little carried away. I am thrilled! She knows how crazy I am for anything Dragonfly. But I am not going to use it as a bookmark, I am going to frame it! And when the world discovers her talent, I can say, " Why yes, I have an early original watercolor by Lisa!"
Thank you Lisa, thank you!!
Do any of you have fireplaces? And do you get birds in them? We do. Every spring and fall, we get dumb ones who sit on top of the flue and fall down into the fireplace. We do have doors that we keep closed when not burning a fire. Thank goodness, or they would be flying through the house at all hours. Normally, when I hear one in there, I open our front door, open the fireplace doors and the bird flies out straight to the outside. Occasionally, I get a really dumb one and he flies the opposite direction and ends up at our window in the bedroom.

This time Fat Cat heard the commotion and came to see what was going on. She just sat on the bed and watched him as he tried in vain to escape to the wild blue. When I grabbed the camera, she turned to look at me as if to say "Well, do something!"
Eventually, I get them rounded up and head back the right direction. Starlings and sparrows aren't exactly the brightest crayons in the box are they?!
Now...
I won't be posting for a few days. At least not until next week some time. We are going through a family crisis of sorts. The decision has been made to place my mother-in-law in a nursing care facility on Monday. She has Alzheimer's and has been living with her daughter for a few months now. Sadly, she needs more intensive care and supervision than can be given at home. We have know for a while that she wasn't doing well, but since Thanksgiving she has deteriorated quickly. This disease, also, took my grandmother from me years before her death. It is an insidious disease that robs one's dignity! It puts families into turmoil and feelings of helplessness and guilt abound. Thankfully, there are more resources available now to help both victims...the loved one and the family.

13 comments:

Beth said...

What a lovely piece of art in the guise of a bookmark. I'll miss your joyful posts while you are away but will be thinking of you and your family during this difficult time.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

I appreciate what you said about my bookmark Beckie. Thank you.

Your bird story made me laugh but I was so sorry to hear about your MIL. I know you have been worried about her for some time. I am wishing you much love and luck getting her settled without too much drama.

I will look forward to seeing you back online.

beckie said...

Thank you for your caring Beth. Isn't Lisa talented! That gene must have come from the otherside of the family!!

Lisa, you are very welcome! You deserve it as you are a very special person. Thanks for your concern... will keep you updated.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

P.S. I am thinking that your cat is saying "Mother I will take care of this little problem" as she smacks her lips. Or perhaps she is thinking "Is this my new toy" :)

Rose said...

Beckie,
I am glad you were able to get the bird out.
I know it's been a hard decision about your mother-in-law, but you are doing the right thing. I'll be thinking of you the next few days. Take care.

Cheryl said...

The bookmark is exquisite, Lisa is such a talented artist.

We have a mesh grill on the top of our chimney and it works a treat. My husband made and fitted it. You wouldn't know it was there, and we don't get any birds down the chimney now.

Sorry to hear about your mother in law. Its a sad decision but that is a terrible illness. My grandmother also had it.

Hope it goes well Beckie, don't stay away too long.

Mary said...

Hi Beckie, Lisa is a talented and generous artist, isn't she?

I had to laugh about the fat cat who looked at YOU to take charge of the situation :o)

Take your time off with the blog. I understand your situation well, as my Dad enered a nursing home 18 months ago. It's hard.

beckie said...

Thank you all for your caring. I really appreciate your kind words.

Terra said...

I adore dragonflies too, and song birds and butterflies and bees, and more.
Nice to meet you.
Terra
terragarden.blogspot.com

Amy said...

Hi there Beckie - thanks so much for your kind comments on my blog :)

In our first home every spring northern flickers would get into our fireplace. I believe they were looking for nesting sites. The first time it caused quite an uproar trying to figure out how to get it our of there. We were actually playing mating calls on our computer, trying to lure it out, lol! Eventually we perfected our methods (all lights off and curtains closed, open one window wide where sun shines through and be very quiet) and then it was easy to deal with.

I'm very sorry to hear about your mother-in-law. In the past few years both of my husband's grandfathers have developed some form of dementia to the point that they had to be cared for in a nursing home. It is very sad, and very difficult.

Aiyana said...

Hi Beckie,
Thanks for visiting my blog. I posted a comment with some info about the M. elongata on my blog.
Aiyana

Wendy said...

Life certainly brings us lots of challenges. Sending you good wishes at this difficult time.

beckie said...

Again, I really appreciate all the concern and caring you have shown. This network of friends has been a wonderful place of refuge!