A Pert Little Fellow

Not the Pert Fellow of the title~I'm a female

A city girl born and bred~it wasn't until my family moved to Florida that I really noticed birds. It was 8F when we flew from St. Louis and 70F when we landed in Tampa. To a child that's a magical journey like no other.

I stepped outside to warmth, sunshine, orange trees in our backyard and pretty red birds. They were everywhere and they were singing their hearts out for me....cheer, cheer, cheer. It really was magical.

In the GOBN

So deeply was that moment imprinted in my memory, that when the light is just right and the temperatures are just so, a cardinal's song, can transport me to that magical moment when I first noticed the fat red bird in the orange tree.

But, it took moving to Tennessee for me to begin to appreciate birds. After grad school, I packed up my Sea Foam Green Fiat and moved into a big rental house with a wild backyard. I settled into life as a full time employed adult along with my two best friends from college!

Our rental house was on a busily traveled road, but, the back yard sloped down through the woods to a small creek. The long ago garden had a small bricked patio and a few birdhouses that we kept filled with inexpensive bird food. The kitchen table sat in an alcove of windows and we could all watch the acrobatic activities over coffee.

The neglected garden was a haven for blue jays, mockingbirds, doves, cardinals, robins and, many birds new to me. That first summer, I was introduced to Chickadees and the Tufted Titmouse. During the winters the finches descended in flocks and bullied the other birds. They were all wonderful to watch, but, the Tufted Titmouse stole my heart. (Folks, My content is being scraped, if you read this on another blog, please notify CandL )

He's a pert little fellow with a jaunty crest, dark eyes, mouse gray feathering and a touch of rust under his wings. He's a permanent resident of any garden he moves into~

Clay and Limestone is only a couple of miles away from my first Nashville home. This garden is on a busy street, in the middle of the suburbs with a wayback backyard and front garden that is a haven for me, the birds and other wildlife. The front garden is enclosed by Hedge, a behemoth wall of forsythia that not surprisingly is protection for birds and small mammals year round. (go here and here for Hedge's story) I've met even more delightful birds~the Rufous Sided Towhee, the Pileated woodpecker, Juncoes, Pine Siskins, White Breasted Nuthatches, Eastern Bluebirds, Carolina Wrens, Rose Breasted Grosbeaks, all the finches gold or purple, Red-bellied and Downy Woodpeckers, sparrows, and even a pair of owls that hunt in the garden at night. But, my heart still belongs to

That pert little fellow, the Tufted Titmouse.

Isn't he adorable!

xxoogail

This post was written by Gail Eichelberger for my blog Clay and Limestone, Copyright 2011. If you are reading this on another blog, it's been stolen, Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.