A Bird in the Hand

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, they say. By that, I guess they mean we should be thankful for what we actually have and quit lusting after stuff we don't have at the moment. All good things come to those who wait, somebody else has said. Of course, that is not true, but I digress.

Birds are wonderful whether they are sitting on your finger or singing some delightful song in a bush nearby.

The fact that I can play the piano a little is because of a bird, or two birds, in fact. This seems far-fetched, but isn't at all. You see, my mother was an amateur artist, and she was good, but very good, and one day she painted a picture of two birds, one a very large beautiful, colorful bird with wings outstretched and showing off its beauty in the air. The little-nothing of a sparrow was sitting in the right corner of the painting looking up at the gorgeous bird with a pathetic, defeated look on its little-nothing face. My mother won a nice prize when she entered it in an advertising contest.

She always wanted a piano, even as a little girl, so she used her prize money to buy a used piano with lots of music included. My mother never learned to play that piano, except for two or three chords, but I was given a few lessons by a very good teacher until the money became scarce which didn't take long in those days.

When you think of the unending array of birds that exist on our planet, it is astounding! From the busy little humming bird to the majestic eagle and beyond--it is quite overwhelming. From the blue-footed booby to the Minnesota loon with its crazy laugh, it is just fantastic.

A friendly little chickadee followed me around one day when I was mowing the lawn. I couldn't believe it! This little bird hopped along in the grass right behind me and later sat on the picnic table and jumped up on my finger. The next day I found some bird feathers and "stuff" in my yard. I assumed that this little chickadee was not successful in her attempt to make friends with a neighborhood cat.

I heard a mother robin "talk" to her baby who was just learning to fly. I could tell they were actually communicating because the baby was responding in a certain way. I also once saw both robin parents trying to encourage a crippled baby robin to learn to fly. It was touching.

So I have decided to take up painting birds on canvas. I probably won't win any prizes, but I am going to enjoy every minute of it. And when I'm not painting birds, I'll be at my organ having fun playing such pieces as "Yellow Bird" and "When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob Bob Bobbin' Along".