I remember the times I would go to my Aunt and Uncle’s house for a lazy day visit with my son. They had several bird feeders on their property, to watch various feathery visitors. Hummingbird feeders lined the edge of the roof, standing bird feeders out in the front and backyards. I think they were addicted.

They had all the necessary equipment handy to get the full experience of bird-watching nothing fancy just binoculars and a bird book. This is one hobby you don’t need much money to support. Nearly everyone has binoculars and you can start with a book from the library and a loaf of bread.

If you find you enjoy watching the birds feed then you need to decide what type of bird feeder you would like to have: tray, hopper, or tube, and birdseed. That’s simple enough, of course you can always find a way to spend more, they make birder binoculars (they have built in digital cameras in them) for the high tech bird-watchers, wow.

We would sit in the front room and see mostly hummingbirds or the back room and see other colorful birds. My uncle would tell us what type of bird was feasting at the time and delight us in his stories of past bird visits and the strange habits some had.

Living in West Virginia there are many more colorful birds I didn’t see when I lived in California. They have these yellow birds I would see flying around and I was sure someone’s favorite pet had flown the coop, but no they are all over. You’ll have to ask my uncle what bird it is I have no idea!

But nothing was as strange as the first time a saw the goats roaming around loose on the mountain side. I drove to the police station to tell them of this incident, they told me not to worry they were so-and-so’s goats they go home every night. I think the city should pay the goats to keep the grass down.

Although I live in an apartment I’m thinking of putting out a little feeder out front, I’m not much into gardening or being outdoors. The wonderful person who lived here before me planted some tulips and those are nice to see in the spring.

The only obstacle to placing a bird feeder outside would be my cats banging their heads on the window trying to get to the birds; of course they would want outside for a closer look. I would feel guilty if the cats caught a bird for dinner, maybe I had better get a tomato plant instead. I can always open the window to water it.

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