Feathered friends, an Ode to the Chickadees

      Of all the birds I love in the world, and there are many, the Black-Capped Chickadee is my absolute favorite.  They have so much personality packed into their tiny songbird bodies!  Chickadees, from the Paridae family, are native to North America, and are revered in many Native American traditions for their curiousness and bravery.  Chickadees love to check out new things, and are always on the look-out for danger.  They often live in flocks with other Chickadees, Nuthatches, Woodpeckers, Cardinals and Finches.  Chickadees are often the first to notice an intruder. Their loud buzzing, "Chick-a dee-dee-deee", notifies the entire flock of danger.  Chickadees are very competitive for food, and will stand up to a much larger bird, to get to a yummy treat.  Their curious natures allow humans the honor of meeting them in the woods.  They flutter from tree branch to tree branch sizing up the stranger, and buzzing about it to any bird that will listen.  

     

Hand-feeding Chickadees at my feeder

         I learned many years ago that people were able to hand-feed Chickadees.  I wanted to do this one day!  I have always fed the birds, in all the apartments I rented over the years.  But when I bought my house a few years ago, and realized I could be feeding these same birds and their offspring for the rest of my life, I made it my goal to know "my birds."  My particular feeder flock consists of about 20 Chickadees, that stay all year on the island.  They brave the incredibly harsh winters, and in the summer they come less to the feeder, as there is much to feed on in the fields.
      Many people have asked how I got the Chickadees to my hand, so here is how I did it.  If you love birds, you should try it! The key is patience!!  I feed the birds all year, so many of the same birds check out the feeder daily.  I began standing outside beside the feeder after I filled it with seed, so they would get used to my presence while they ate.  I often sat in a chair during the day between their favorite perch, a huge lilac bush, and the feeder.  They became more and more comfortable with me.  Then, I made sure to feed only enough food for the day.  So at morning the feeder was empty, and the birds were eager for seed.  I then began holding my feed scoop full of black-oil sunflower seed, out from my body and waited.  Soon, a couple birds came to the scoop, while the other curious ones watched.  Once they realized the brave birds were getting first dibs on seeds, others joined in.  I did this for a few weeks.  Then one morning, instead of a scoop, I used my hand.  I stood quietly, at the lilac bush with my seed-filled hand, a few came to closer branches, staring at me, buzzing. I found that not looking at them, instead looking down, increased their trust.  After all, predators stare!  Then the two most friendly ones hopped into my hand, quickly grabbing a seed.  I was overjoyed!!  As time went on, more and more birds came to my hand, taking turns, even chasing each other away in competition for the first seeds of the morning.  I feed them this way everyday, also a key to hand-feeding is consistency. We can look at each other now, they know I won't hurt them.  A few will even sit  in my hand picking through to find just the right seed.  Some stare in my eyes, I wonder what they must think of me?
           Feeding the Chickadees is one of the true simple joys of my life!  When I get home from a long night shift at the hospital, they greet me, much like my pets.  As I take the dogs out, the Chickadees dive me, chirping and buzzing "The feeder is empty, crazy bird lady!"  When we open the curtains of the window looking out toward the feeder, in the morning, excitement ensues. They buzz towards the window, or perch on a plant staring in the window.  With a flirty flutter, they chirp, "Feed us, feed us!"  When I was away recently, my partner took over the feeding, and reported to me how they all were doing.  Since I have been doing this for a number of years, other people can feed my flock as well.  Some of my birder friends love to come to hold the Chickadees.  Some of the Chickadees have been named, and I do have a favorite.  Mr. Stripey is a shy, larger bird with a white stripe across his black cap.  I have never seen this marking on a Chickadee. It took him many months to come to my hand, although he vocalized the loudest, while all the others were doing it.  It was a great day, when he finally came to me!  Below, is a poem I composed the other morning, after stressful work shifts.  I hope it expresses how much I admire these winged creatures, and how much they help me!!

 

Chickadees!

So light in my palm,

Cares from a difficult shift

Take wing

One- by one

Peace.

Eskies and Equality -together at last!

       This post was going to be about my rescued American Eskimo Dog, Ahnah, for the Pagan Blog Project.  However, I am a week behind in writing as I just returned home from caring  for my mom, and needed some rest.  So in honor of International Women's Day I am going to attempt to tie in two posts together!  Hold on...this could be interesting.
      The story of my beloved dog, Ahnah, is a sorted tale of love and loss.  My beloved partner and I lost our dog, Howie, last year, to an unfortunate accident.  To understand how painful this was for us, is to understand that we have never given up on an animal.  We are child-free women by choice, and our animals are our babies.  We both have had pets, usually multiple, in our homes for our entire lives.  We are devoted to them, and often laugh about the fact that they come first.  So, with the loss of this dog, came the tragedy of injury, lost friendships and the guilt that comes when you wonder was there anything different we could have done.  I will not go into this any further, other than to say, a dog's personal space needs to be protected.  Together, we shared immense pain, and it changed us.  A few years prior my "dog-daughter", Sophia died at the age of 15.  I miss her everyday, and really never thought I could have that deep a connection with another animal.
       After losing our dog we knew we wanted to adopt another.  We had been watching for dogs on Pet-Finders and saw that there were more than a thousand up for adoption within a hundred mile radius of our home.  This was so tragic!!  We went to see a Puggle mix dog, at a local rescue.  We fell in love with the adorable, brown, smooshed- nose beast with an under-bite!!  I happened to see a white dog peering at me quietly, in a corner crate.  I asked about her, with curiosity.  The rescue owner said, "I will bring her out." before I could even get out the words, "We are only looking for one dog."  My partner brought out the little white dog to the yard on a leash.  She ran up to me, put her feet on my thighs, and stared into my eyes with her one little eye.  I scooped her up, tears pouring down my face- it was instant profound connection.  She licked my tears, wagging her entire body with joy.  We rescued two dogs that day, or perhaps, they rescued us.

Sagan, Ahnah and I in Maine!

       So here is my Pagan tie in to the story.  I had been doing deep meditation work during the months preceding this, a balm for difficult times.  The name Ahnah, (I was unsure of the spelling) kept coming to me during meditation.  I thought it might be the name of a spirit guide, but did not give it a lot of thought. When we brought the little Eskimo dog with one eye into our home she was named Elle.  She did not know this name at all, so we renamed her.  She had been abandoned in a South Carolina shelter, likely a pure-bred Eskie, with an eye injury.  We know nothing else about her life, other than she had surgery and was transported to a Vermont rescue with the Puggle, we named Sagan, after Carl of course!  The name Ahnah kept coming to me, while searching for names and I looked it up.  Ahnah, is an Inuit word meaning wise woman.  Perfect!!  Ahnah looks like a young wise woman staring and all-knowing with her one little eye.  She is wonderful, smart, funny, active and loves the water and the snow.  She graduated from obedience class, and is a perfect companion for me.  The missing eye is not a disability for her.  It does make me nervous, because she does not have a spare!!  We now have a very complete family in our tiny home, with three rescued amazing boy kitties as well.
       Another Pagan tie in, is my belief that all sentient beings are important, worthy, and come from the Source, just as humans do.  Sometimes I feel that dogs are more evolved than we are.  Most days I only hope to be half the woman that Ahnah thinks I am.  They are pure love!  Dogs languishing in shelters because they are given up on, or their owners gave little thought to the acquisition of a new pet, is morally wrong.  So is, not neutering pets, especially cats that can have countless litters of unwanted kittens.  The way we keep animals for food is repugnant as well.  Animals kept, crowded, caged, and against their true nature with rampant disease is unethical and unsafe for the world.  I will write a much more in depth post in the future about conscious eating. 
        On International Woman's Day I would like to honor all beings with the dignity they deserve!  The last weeks rantings by Rush Limbaugh, and hearings on birth control in the Congress that included no women, is nothing short of shameful and outrageous!  What in the world does a panel of older men, half from the church, have to do with anything about any woman's body??  People of conscience, and I do not mean the fake Christian kind, that spout the words of Jesus and then are hateful to everyone who is not just like themselves;  I mean thinking, feeling people, who believe in equality, that love must prevail, that peace is not only possible, but necessary, for the future of our planet.
We must stand up everyday for what is right!
         We need more women leaders, period!  We also need brave men that will call-out men who call any woman a slut, every time!  Women need to be trusted!  We have a right to control our own bodies including the reproductive parts!  If this ridiculousness continues, we need to revisit Lysistrata, and protest every drug store that sells Viagra!   Leaders who care more about a fetus, than about babies once they are born need to go!  Opponents of abortion rights, should be the biggest proponents of birth control.  The opposite is true, because this is all about controlling women.  Once again, immoral and out-dated!  Women all over the world are victims of rape, genital mutilation, and starvation.  They are refuges of war, caught in the middle of violence, desperately trying to survive.  With all the serious problems in the world, we do not have to entertain this misogynist 3-ring circus, meant to divide us, and take away our power.  We just need to say, NO!  We vote!  Get something done for us, or you are all fired! 
       I could go on about equality for days, but this ( humor me, let's take all the names we're called, and embrace them occasionally with pride) slutty, Tree-hugger, "Femi-nazi", Dyke, Pan-Dianic Witch, has to go play with the little white dog,  who brings such whimsy to her life!  In my older age I understand that life is too short to be too serious, and one has to have balance.  For me, whimsy and the search for wisdom are integral to my inner alchemy!

A few days after we adopted our fur-babies!