I filled up Grandpa’s bird feeder and as I closed the lid, I thought of all the days I’d watched birds come to eat at it when I visited him.

The tears gathered in my eyes. I’d give it back to him in a heartbeat if I could see him again. I longed for one more hour to enjoy watching the birds with him and listening to him count the little tails on the perch. 

Later as I washed dishes, a beautiful yellow finch lit on the perch to eat. And at the other feeder I spied a blue indigo. Before long, the cardinals chirped over the seeds and the purple house finches came in for a meal.

Feeding the birds and watching them flit around the yard has been a favorite past time of mine for years now.

It is a fulltime, year-round hobby. Even before I acquired my collection of bird feeders, I’d put the seed on the ledge outside my window and watch the little finches fly in for their wintertime meal.

It is a marvelous way to get closer to nature.  I feel like a zookeeper some days when I go out to feed my birds. 

If I leave one particular feeder empty a day or two so they will feed on the other feeders, it seems as if the birds are watching me as I go out to fill it up.

I will hear them overhead in the pecan tree or the near by trees on the fence row.

As soon as I leave the feeder, I see them wrap it up. They like that particular feeder because it is so far off the ground.

I recently left it empty too many days in a row because when I went to fill it red wasps had taken it over for their home.

Out came the vinegar. I sprayed them down good with it and they flew away. They can’t stand the smell in those close quarters.

I tore the nest down and filled the feeder up. That’s the beauty of vinegar, it is safe for the birds and will drive away six-legged pests.

I suppose I love to watch the birds because they are colorful and fascinating.

Even the dull and somber mourning dove has an overall pink appearance on its breast, and what looks gray is actually a gray-blue color.

And birds don’t have just one size fits all calls, a different tone is used according to the situation.

For instance, a cardinal has a common purdy, purdy, purdy call or you may hear them say chip when they come to the feeder. And if you hear chip, several times in a row it is a call of alarm.

I was apprised of this fascinating site on the Web by one of my blogger friends called birdjam.

It is a great site to go to and listen to the call of different birds so you can identify who is in the trees talking to you.

If you would like to listen in on the birds, here is the Web link: http://www.birdjam.com. When you get to the site, click on Learn bird songs! under the About birdJam on the left hand side of the page.

It has taught me all the different sounds that the birds make and I’m just now beginning to realize that what I thought were two different birds was really one bird’s call.

So now, after I fill my bird feeder, I retreat to that board swing my dear son built for me and listen to the song of the birds on the breeze while I’m watching them come and enjoy their meal on Grandpa’s feeder that continues to bring me somber joy.