Feed the Birds (Don't Forget the Cats)

Though her words are simple and few
Listen, listen, she's calling to you
"Feed the birds, tuppence a bag
Tuppence, tuppence, tuppence a bag

Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman, Feed the Birds *

The woman loved by all the creatures made an appearance. And she moves fast.

Have I shared that it is hot and humid? The weather reports say we are about 10 degrees above normal and I do not doubt it. So we are walking earlier and earlier each day - as early as we can manage to drag ourselves out of bed (drink a couple of gulps of coffee, find the leash, pocket the dog bags, and lure the pup out of the house and into the car). VM always has a smile on her face. I hope I do too...but sometimes, I fear, it's a "not enough coffee" sleepy face for me.

Even though we were arriving early, we had not seen the bird/cat lady in weeks. Until today.

As we rounded the corner from the north parking, we spied her under the trees.** Her arms were full of bags and gallon containers - cracked corn and cat food. I exclaimed, "There you are! We have missed seeing you!" She replied, "Oh, I am usually much earlier than this! I'm late today." Then she busied herself with making sure the creatures ate. She called the cats - each has a name. I'll have to ask her again as was so pleased to see her that the names just flew out of my head like the pigeons fleeing before the puppies. And the grey cat we have not seen in weeks was back today as well. She's an older cat so maybe

We saw herons, a cardinal, and other birds, but nothing brought us more joy, on this day, than seeing our friend at her self-appointed task.

Tomorrow will bring crowds, bands, traffic, and noise.** We've chosen a different park for our walk as we suspect the birds will have flown off to a quieter spot on the creek until the festivities are through. Certainly the cat lady will finish her tasks early so her charges can shelter away from the chaos. We will return on Thursday.

Other things in the park/creek today:

Waning moon and crows...

This Great Blue Heron more than performed today. It flew downstream and then moved to two more spots for photo opportunities.

In addition to this GBH there was one Yellow-crowned Night Heron and one Green Heron.

I love the echo of the red in the Cardinal and the jogger's shirt.

NOTES:

*Feed the Birds lyrics © Walt Disney Music Company

**To be honest, we saw the cats running towards her and the birds gathered. Follow the critters...

It's time for the carnival. I always think of the kids when I see a carnival setting up. They loved carnivals and their dad would take them...after overheating at one in Lampasas my carnival days were over.