Birds

I hate birds. I have always hated birds. I don't know if it stems from watching parts of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" as a child or if it comes from being bitten by several birds at the zoo and chased by geese at the park, and dive bombed by seagulls at the beach. Either way, I really do not like birds.

My Grandma always loved birds. She had bird feeders and bird houses. She had hummingbird feeders she kept full all the time. She had little bird decorations and Christmas ornaments. She loved her birds.

When she moved into the assisted living apartment she did not have anywhere to hang a bird house or bird feeder. Sometimes she would buy bird food when she rode the bus to Walmart. She would put the bird seed out on the little balcony porch she had. Then, one day she quit buying bird seed.

She started getting bread and rolls from her apartment and putting them out on the little porch for the birds to eat. She would always get doves that would come and eat her bread. They seemed to keep all the other birds away. She still enjoyed the doves and any other birds she saw.

All through the years, Grandma would tell me stories about her birds. Before the assisted living place, she had constant complaints about squirrels getting into the bird feeders. Then, there were the complaints about the birds being picky and only eating certain types of seeds, like sunflower seeds. In my life, I never appreciated her love for birds.

The last couple of years, I have finally started to find an appreciation for birds. I am by no means a birder or even a real lover of birds. I have begun to enjoy seeing the wide variety of birds that comes through our yard each year. I have also begun to appreciate taking pictures of birds. Some birds have a majestic and stately look, others have beautiful and vibrant coloring, then there are strange looking birds and even elegant birds. I never expected to grow to like birds, but I do. I still would like to keep them at a distance. I have no intention of getting bitten by birds ever again.