Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Feed the Birds

The lady next door is very strange.  Her patterned babooshka hides most of her bald head as she stands outside her back door calling the birds.

-Cree, creeee, creeeeee, she sings out.  Cree, creeee, creeeeeee.

My sleep-filled eyes pop open at the early morning call.  Cooing and furious flapping sounds fill the air and pour in my open window, making sleep a distant memory.  375 birds flock in from all directions, gather en masse in a swirling circle over a 4 house radius for breakfast each morning and supper each evening.


Sulphurous patches of poop land indiscriminately on decks, fences and garden furniture.  Feathers and down float through the air, picked up and carried on the slightest breeze.  Large bird bodies colliding with windows or clogging chimneys is a common occurrence here.  Besides the noise, the pollution and the health hazards, civic by-laws disallow the feeding of wild animals and birds, making the whole backyard pigeon coop thingy illegal.

-Birds have souls too, you know.  They are dearer than people.  I take care of them, feed them and protect them.

Neighbourly relations have strained to the point of breaking on this block, but the lady in the babooshka sings on:
-Cree, creee, creeeeeeee, every morning and evening, calling her feathered friends for free food!


4 comments:

"Cottage By The Sea" said...

Perhaps you could kindly suggest she feed the birds in the park instead. I'm sure being a bird lady and all, they'd follow her. That, or get a cat.:Blessings from a lover of bird poop free sidewalks, yards and cars.
P.S. We have a neighbor who feeds the raccoons. A similar j.o.y. to that of birds.

Veronica Lee said...

Get a cat!

My nephew is visiting from Alberta and he's been regaling me with wonderful tales of Canada!

Unknown said...

yuck. pooh all over the place. Its a shame something can't be done to protect your morning sleep.

Roy and Christine said...

On a much limited scale than you are relating, Christine likes to throw out bread crumbs to get rid of the crusts. She would like to attract anything but blue jays, but the jays seem to get there first.

We know what you mean about birds flying into windows. White winged doves frequently fly into our cathedral ceiling windows. We have tried several "warning" signals, but nothing has worked yet. If some of your readers have solved the problem, the information would be appreciated.