The Pecking Order

My son keeps reminding me that I'm remiss in doing my blogs. Well, it takes a certain amount of solitude to engender inspirtation.

But then I had to do some dishes. The kitchen sink has wonderful windows over it, and I have a great view of several maple trees, the leaf pile, the "bunny garden" and the bird feeder. At least, the bird feeder is supposed to be there, but husband hasn't put it up in the last few days.

Have you ever noticed the "pecking order"? Our feeder hangs from the stump of a branch, and only the small birds can perch on it. They toss the bigger seeds or seeds they don't like down on the ground, where the bigger birds est it. The little ones are chickadees and sparrows, and the occasional red-headeded woodpecker. The cardinals, blue jays and pouter pigeons have to be satisfied with the buffet at the bottom of the hosta garden.

I always thought that the cardinals were afraid of the jays, who seemed to rule the roost. But the other day I was enlightened. The solitary red-headed woodpecker backs them all off.

Reminds me of a Marine sargeant.

Ever Make a HUGE Mistake?

Nah, you probably haven't, but if you get to be my age, they pile up.

I thought a newly forming service group was going to meet at my favorite quilt shop today, so begged husband to take me there and come back for me after he did the grocery shopping. I showed up and the shop owner was surprised. The service project is tomorrow! The group that would meet today is more like a quilt guild -- they don't see themselves as that organized, but...

Since I couldn't contact DH, I decided to sit in on the group that was meeting -- after I browsed the goods. (Sigh -- it's tough, but someone has to do it!) As women straggled in, one of the first to come along was a fairly new member of our church who is an avid sewer new to quilting. She'd talked to someone on the phone about the group and was dreading not knowing anyone. So that was one good thing that happened -- we each had someone to relate to. Then she told me that in the months to come, she would be glad to take me to meetings...so I joined!

Well, the group that meets tomorrow will go on without me -- I'll catch up to them next month. I have a cold I'm recovering from and today drained me.

But making a big mistake can lead to new friends and discoveries -- and more fabric in the stash.