Strange, but true

Have you ever really watched and listened to a Mockingbird? They really do mock other birds. One morning while sitting on the deck enjoying the cool of the day (before the scorch set in), a gentle breeze and a luxurious cup of coffee, I watched a Mockingbird doing its thing. It was flying a pattern that included the wires from the telephone pole across the street, the top of the house, the top of the neighbor's house, and the tops of about 3 different trees. I was amazed to see (and hear) that it actually was singing in flight. I didn't realize any bird did that. Of course, since I've only observed the Mockingbird, for all I know this is the only that does sing in flight. Even more fascinating was the repertoire. It sang a few choruses from the Cardinal, the Sparrow and a few other birds I couldn't identify.

Tonight, as the sun was moving behind the trees and allowing my yard to have some shade, I ventured out for some yard work. I have been mowing (little by little) for three days now. Tonight, I picked up the fallen branches in the front yard under the River Birch tree (if you don't know what that is, Shalane, there is one growing outside of your kitchen window), trimmed some branches off the Dogwood tree and whatever that other monster is growing up next to my Japanese Dogwood and mowed some more. Of course, I forgot to spray Off on my exposed legs and arms, so the skeeters got a hold of me. Even after spraying the Off, the skeeters were still biting. Could be that my Off has lost its potency. It's only been sitting in a hot garage for a little over a year. And with the way time gets away from me...it's probably realistically more like two years. I digress...again.

After I put the lawnmower away and took the trash to the curb, I let the dogs out and tried to play fetch with Allie. She gets maniac crazy about me going out in the yard and does a couple of greyhound like laps. She eventually will settle down long enough to sit. I will only throw the ball for her if she sits. Once I throw it, she does a few more laps. She has improved her fetching skills to the point where she will drop the ball about four feet in front of me. She has become a little fatso, so she's only good for about three ball throws and then she's wiped out. In my effort to get her to come back to me and play ball again, I whistle again and again and again. She ignores me.

Sitting on the deck swatting skeeters that were not averse to whatever I sprayed on my legs, I noticed the Mockingbird doing its thing as daylight waned. Unlike Allie, the Mockingbird hadn't been ignoring me, because I swear to God that it was mocking me! Its song sounded just like my whistles for Allie. Strange, but true.