Happy February 2nd

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Here’s a photo of Red from our new Bird Buddy.

I don’t know where January went. Probably because I’ve been laid up for half the month. It went pretty quickly, although some days dragged on and on for me. The Bird Buddies have been keeping me company. There’s always plenty to watch and enjoy with the birds and squirrels in our backyard.

I have a pretty busy week ahead so more time will fly. I can’t believe it’s time to post another reading list. I am getting further and further behind with my Daughter In Law’s syllabus for AP English. I had agreed to read along with her class, but I have a feeling I’ll be reading well into the summer to catch up!

READING LIST:

I’m looking forward to reading Emily Dickinson and Shelley’s “Ode to a Skylark.” Dickinson was one of my mom’s favorite poets. And because it’s a new month, my mom is on my mind. I’ve shared this before, but we called each other at the beginning of each month to say “Happy February First” or whatever month it was. It was a race to be able to say it first. I miss her. She was an avid bird watcher and when she was in high school she created a book of all the birds she’d seen along with sketches and paintings of them, much like “The Backyard Bird Chronicles” by Amy Tan. I can’t help but think she’s smiling down on me pleased with my bird photos.

Happy February to you!

What have you read on this months reading list?

One more photo of Red. He likes the birdseed that I’m buying. It has a photo of a Cardinal on the front of the bag.

49 thoughts on “Happy February 2nd”

  1. Some great reads on the list this time! Give yourself some grace and just enjoy what you read, when you can. Those books will always be there 🙂 Is that suet in the little round thing on the feeder tray? Is that part of the new changes to the newer Buddy? It looks like something has been pecking at it. I like that feature!

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    • Thank you. You are correct with the reading list. I don’t need to read everything. Plus I can take my time. It’s a nice guide to have.

      The new Bird Buddy came with the suet holder. It was an add on they sent for free. The birds are enjoying it!

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  3. Red is so beautiful!! Your pictures of him are incredible. I love the feeder. 😍 I used to feed our backyard birds but since having health issues I couldn’t really keep up with the cleaning, etc. I really miss it. Sometimes the deer would eat all of the birdseed, including the shells 😆, when I had some of it in a feeder they could access. I got so much pleasure out of watching the birds. Their personalities are all different and it was so much fun when they were up to their antics. I used to love the little chickadees because they were the friendliest and not as skittish as some of the others when I came out to feed them. Oh the memories.

    I lost my mom this past late August and I miss her terribly. 😞 I lost my sweet, cute, funny rescue cat 🐈 eight days before my mom. Sounds like your mom was an amazing woman. I would have loved to see her bird book.
    I like your reading arrangement.
    Have a great day. 🙂

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    • Thank you for your comment. I agree with everything you said about birds in the backyard. They are my entertainment. I love watching them and taking photos.

      I lost my mom a couple years ago along with my rescue cat. My cat was my daughter’s but became mine when my daughter went to college. The kitty was too young to go and was completely healthy one day and a few days later was so sick.

      I’m sorry for the loss your mom and your sweet cat so recently.

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      • Thank you so much!! It’s been really tough. I’m so sorry for your losses as well.
        Our first cat died in 2019. We had him for nineteen years. I loved him so much, too. We got another one in late 2020. He was around three the vet thought. He had various health issues but never did I imagine he would develop a mass in his intestines. He was the funniest, cutest, and sweetest kitty ever!!
        I miss my animals. My husband said NO MORE CATS!! It really pained him when we lost both of them, and with my own health issues right now it would be difficult to maintain them. For now I’m taking one day at a time. Maybe someday we’ll get another one. 😉

      • We decided against another cat because our son is so allergic to them. He doesn’t visit that often, but he really suffers and doesn’t want to stay with us.

        It’s so painful to say good-bye to our pets. We had a cat at our former house for 17 years. He was an inside outside cat and wandered into a yard at an empty house across the street. The house next door at a pit bull mix that jumped the fence and attacked our kitty. If our cat was younger, he would have dodged the attack.

        Then we had our daughter’s cat since 2011 until last year. It was so hard to say goodbye, but she got so sick with a failing liver. I can understand your husband not wanting a new cat.

        Best wishes for your health!

      • Oh, no. I’m so sorry about what happened to your senior kitty. 😢 Our kitties were both strictly indoors. I actually do understand my hubby’s stance. It makes sense but it’s hard to accept. I suffer from petting and kissing withdrawal. 😆
        Thank you for the well wishes. So nice chatting with you. 🙂

      • Our kitty that was our daughter’s was indoors only. We have too much dangerous wildlife where we moved to. I too suffer from petting and kissing withdrawal.

  4. What a great reading list and wonderful pictures of Red! I was introduced to Fyodor Dostoevsky in high school and have read most of his books, as well as most of the poetry. It’s a great month of reading, though, as Deb days, go at your own pace and enjoy it!

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    • Thanks! I’m still working on last month, but I am dipping into the poetry while reading Dorian Gray. The entire syllabus is great. I’m reading so many classics I missed in school. I’m wondering what my high school had us read?

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  5. Love these pictures of the Red. What a treasure your mom created with sketches and drawings. My reading list is the three books on my nightstand- Dan Brown’s Secret of secrets, a poetry book that a dear friend had sent me and Ben Hur- a movie that I saw when in school and bought it on a whim. Now that the holy month of Ramadan is starting in about 2 weeks, most of my time will be spent reading the Holy Quran.

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    • Thank you! I’m glad you enjoy the Red photos. My brother has the bird book our mom created. They said they’d have a copy made for me. I hope they do! I love the Ben Hur movie. I haven’t red Dan Brown for years. We have Lent starting in two weeks, so we will both be on a religious journey.

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      • You’re welcome. Yes, for past few years, Lent and Ramadan are sort of overlapping. Thank you for sharing.
        I hope you get a copy of your mom’s book made. And do get the pages laminated so they last.

      • I didn’t realize Lent and Ramadan were overlapping. I think I should remind my brother and sister-in-law to get the book copied. I like your idea of laminating the pages.

      • Ramadan moves back 10 days every year as the lunar calendar is 10 days shorter than Gregorian calendar. So we make a full cycle in about 36 years.
        Yes I think you should. It’s such a priceless book and memento of your mom’s work.

  7. I’m Nobody, Who are You? one of my favorite poems! Emily Dickinson. I have read the poetry and the fiction. I was an English major. Oh, not Dorian Gray. Glad you are up and around. This morning, I just found a great market-The Jerusalem Market-and picked up a few things. Right next to the dog groomer. I am amazed at the older generation’s education and reading history. The other day, I spoke to the pug, Rasputin, and one of the nearby walkers heard me and knew the history of Rasputin. I was amazed! Then again, my English teacher was far superior in high school to my history teacher.

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    • I love that poem, too. You did have a good education in English. I was a journalism major in college, which is not the same. I also think my high school did not give us a good education. My Chemistry teacher did, but other than that, not so much. When I went to college they made me take a remedial math class, because our school was behind the more urban schools.

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      • Thank you. I think also your interests define your course. My brother excelled in math despite the math teacher winning a regent’s scholarship in math. I did not but loved reading. I have taken many remedial math classes since then.

  12. I’ve read the Twain and Poe stories, very long ago. Probably some of the poetry, ditto. Not the books, though!

    That sounds like a nice little routine with your mom. Do you have her bird photos and art?

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    • I’m enjoying the poetry. If I read any of February’s reading, like you — it was a long time ago! It was a fun little monthly phone call I had with my mom since I was in my 20s! My brother has my mom’s bird book with the drawings and paintings. She also was into photography and had a dark room. I don’t know what happened to her photography.It was framed throughout our house when I was growing up. She was into macro photography that was abstracts of shells and rocks from the beach and nature from the forest.

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