07.31.09
Posted in Bird Watching at 2:39 pm by Administrator
During our drought the last three to four years before 09, especially toward the end of it, I went for months without seeing a Cardinal in my back yard. Once we finally began to get rain on a regular basis, they returned. This year, they have outdone themselves. I can see sometimes up to ten or so around one feeder. I have especially enjoyed one family. The mom and dad have successfully taught the little ones how to get to the feeder but they still like to be fed. Yesterday, some of the babies would join mom or dad at the feeder & expect to be fed even though the seed was just under their beaks. One time I saw two babies, one feeding the other. It is so neat to see them grow and learn. They have already experienced fights between other birds (finches), some sibling rivalry, safety issues like move out of the woodpeckers way and treat the humans with curiosity from afar, not too close! They have learned that you don’t mess with mom or dad as well. And they are surviving and growing. They stick together so far as if they have a sense of kinship or family. We humans could learn a lot from them. What if…. we helped each other every time something was needed, even doted on others sometimes, learn from our fights and disagreements, be curious but careful around others, remember family is family and wow, the big one, respect mom and dad! Birds and nature in general can teach us so much, and it is a pleasure to be the student.
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07.28.09
Posted in Bird Watching, Bird watching for children, New Childrens Book Friends in the Meadow - Birds, Parent-child relationship at 5:51 am by Administrator
Friends in the Meadow-Birds is now registered on Shelfari, The Site for Books. My address there is http://www.shelfari.com/o1514549898. Visit anytime and leave your comments. Look forward to your feedback. Thanks.
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07.26.09
Posted in Bird watching for children, New Childrens Book Friends in the Meadow - Birds at 12:00 am by Administrator
FACEBOOK UPDATES
The Friends in the Meadow Book Series page is the second page on my FACEBOOK account. Aside from information about the book and more photos, there are blogging posts as well that may not be posted here. Below are some recent posts from that page.
Birding for Children Teaches them Life Lessons
July 21, 2009 at 9:07am
Bird watching helps people in many ways. For children, birding becomes a learning experience that is so much fun they do not realize they are learning. Nature lessons become real life lessons for the child, everything from learning how to just have fun, to being responsible for themselves and other living things. Learning to share, care about others, helping others and when necessary how to stand up for what is right and how to pick their battles carefully. It also gives them an appreciation for God’s world and how there is a cycle in nature that was set in motion from the beginning and continues every day when the sun rises. It offers a sense of routine and security. Birding builds awareness that every living thing is special, the child, the family, even the little birds. (Taken from the introduction to the book, Friends in the Meadow-Birds.)
The Woodpecker and the Cardinal
July 21, 2009 at 9:52am
I did a little bird watching while the boys were still asleep this morning. I have two feeders I can watch easily from my windows. At the front feeder, the red-bellied woodpecker was there every few seconds to gather more seeds to hide in the pine tree bark nearby. After he left the feeder, the titmouse would dart in before the cardinal, who was patiently waiting on the woodpecker to leave, to quickly retrieve his seed. Then before the cardinal could get there, the woodpecker was back.
No one crosses the woodpecker! Then came the titmouse again & the cycle continued. This is so me, always a day late and a dollar short and in the back of the line, no matter which line I choose!
But in the back yard a mother cardinal was teaching her baby how to feed at the feeder. The baby stood under the feeder watching while the mother flew back & forth to retrieve seeds. She would gently give one to the baby. The baby tried to fly to get his own. He would make it up to the feeder but couldn’t maneuver the whole thing just yet. He seemed very content to let his mother do the feeder work. Reminded me of my three year old grandson who last week would not feed himself because, “But I want you to feed me”. I explained to him that he was a big boy and he could do it himself as he has been doing for a long time now.
As I was about to leave the window, the mother cardinal flew away. The baby looked around and began pecking at the ground. He then stood nearby the feeder and just looked up at it. Made me wonder what he was thinking. I have confidence that he will be back and forth to that feeder in no time and before long, he too will come face to face with that woodpecker! It’s all about life lessons.
The Baby Cardinal Update
July 21, 2009 at 9:09pm
Some of you read the earlier post for today about the mother cardinal feeding the baby sunflower seeds out of the feeder. Well, I had another couple of minutes to peek out the window this evening. The dad cardinal had the baby in the front this time and was again feeding it from the feeder. So the parents are taking turns apparently. This time I got a neat picture. See the photo section.
Happy Birding!
Update on Friends in the Meadow - Birds
July 25, 2009
Marketing continues on the book. There are some very interesting groups out there on the massive internet that gives a lot of advice and information about the whole book publishing and marketing process. Several of these groups I have found or joined to receive information and to introduce the book, include The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. This is a national organization that helps writers with resources, conferences and other opportunities. It is divided into regions of the country. Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia make up one region. The website that represents this region is Southern Breeze.org/. This site led me to Jacketflap.com which is a site rich in information, both of what an author wants to hear and some that they don’t. But all of the info is very helpful. Several more groups I will be joining in my efforts is WeRead.com, Goodreads, Shelfari, and LibraryThing. Still much more work to do but I look forward to all I’ll learn along the way.
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07.20.09
Posted in Bird Watching, Green Living, New Childrens Book Friends in the Meadow - Birds at 11:17 pm by Administrator
Friends in the Meadow-Birds now has three posts on Twitter. I spent a couple of hours today reading about the “Green #followFriday” and the Great Green Twitter Follow Parade. Both are great efforts promoting going green and environmental issues. I also found several good birding blogs through Twitter. Check out http://mnn.com/earth-matters/energy/blogs/the-great-green-twitter-follow-parade and join the parade!
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07.19.09
Posted in Birding for Children, New Childrens Book Friends in the Meadow - Birds at 9:35 pm by Administrator
My hummingbirds are busy as well as the bees. The red-bellied woodpecker has started his mid-summer task of gathering sunflower seeds and hiding them in the bark of the pine tree for safekeeping until he needs them this winter. So it seems all is well.
We have also been busy with summer tasks, gardening, birding and other regular summer jobs that come along with living in the country. We have in addition been busy promoting Friends in the Meadow-Birds.
A second press release was issued on July 16, 2009, titled, Friends in the Meadow - Birds, A New children’s Book Promoting Positive Parent-Child Relationships. This one was similar to the first one with more emphasis on the parent-child relationship. This press release was distributed by i-Newswire.com.
On July 17, 2009, the first Press Release (One Bird in the Hand and Two in the Bush) distributed by Free Press Release.com, was listed as part of a search list that was done for a new press release issued by Parents and Friends, which represents The Compassionate Friends which is a worldwide organization.
Friends in the Meadow-Birds has been entered into The National Best Books 2009 Awards event which is sponsored by USA Book News based in Los Angeles, California. Just for entering, the book receives a four month full color listing on USABookNews.com. The timing of this advertisement or promotion is just right for the Christmas holiday season.
Reviews of the book are in the making by several people,
The book now has a presence on Twitter and Facebook. It is becoming easier to find in net searches, so the web presence is beginning to grow.
Other promotional activities are also in the making. So we all have been busy bees or birds or people!
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