Oldschool: One Hard Working Mother

Oldschool: One Hard Working Mother: "There are many things I could say about myself, but there is one thing I know for sure (to quote the great Oprah Winfrey): When I am done ..."

One Hard Working Mother

There are many things I could say about myself, but there is one thing I know for sure (to quote the great Oprah Winfrey):   When I am done with something I am done.  That's it.  Finished!  Over and out!  Done!!  So our recent move has not brought on feelings of longing for our past home or life.  I'm quite enjoying a new adventure in a new place even if it is only 22 miles away from our current dwelling.  But something I do feel a pang for very often, and that is animal time.  The past 2 years have been spent for the most part working alone (minus humanoids).  That averages around 11 hours a day just hanging out with me.  WOW!  I must really like myself, or I'm a HUGE glutton for punishment.  So my companions were the 4 legged and 2 legged (non humanoids) that roamed the ranch.



The black blob in the back of this ride is Rufus the Lab

 Because our new place was not at all hospitable for pups used to living life on a ranch in the wild west, we made the difficult decision to let them move east to live with a wonderful couple that I will forever owe my gratitude.  Rufus (the 4 legged lab) now has a pond that spans approximately 20 acres for his swimming pleasure!  But that is another tail tale.  My days were spent hanging out with 4 dogs, 3 cats, 13 horses, 1 peacock, 1 peahen, 2 calves and a gaggle of wild turkeys.  They rode with me everywhere and basically joined the workforce when it was time to start the day!  To clarify, the dogs went with me.  On occasion a cat joined me in the skid steer for a ride, and the peacock tried to take a leisurely ride with us in my 73 International Travelall Harvester.  I drew the line with the peacock riding along.  They were my company, my protection from the wild wanderers of the west and they brought an extreme amount of happiness into my life.
So now it's strange not to share my days with these furry/feathery creatures that were so intricately woven into my daily existence.  While sitting at the computer on and off over the course of a day I kept noticing this bird chirping.  Excitedly, calling over and over and then stopping for 20 minutes or so and then repeating the same pattern.  I became so used to the singing I had to find this bird, and I didn't have to look far.  In our new backyard a feathery friend and her family had taken up residence.  So I began to watch her and noticed there was also a HIM in the mix.  I knew birds were busy creatures but never had I noticed the skill and down right hard work that a female bird took on while feeding her young!  And talk about bossy.  She chirped and male partner listened!  She flew nonstop back and forth delivery wiggling worms and beautiful bugs to her family for their dining pleasure.  Yes, ole' papa bird was in the game too, but nothing like this hard working little momma.  It became my habit in the morning to listen for them and to watch them when time allowed!  I once again had my animal interaction (even if they ignored me), and I was loving it!!!


This is actually Papa Bird! Little Mama was too fast for me to photograph.

 So after being away for a long weekend visiting with the working man I'm married to I came home to find that the hard working mother had completed her task.  Her babies were released from their nest, and her hard work paid off.  I don't know if birds ever ponder breaks or vacations from the monotony of everyday life, but I hope that little hard working mother is resting in a penthouse of a nest somewhere while someone serves up the juiciest grubs you could imagine and she soaks her dainty feet in a dazzling bird bath.