07.26.09
Update on the Baby Cardinal
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.
