Memories

I am in the business of creating memories and to hear clients tell it I have more than a little success. But this is a story about one of my memories and not even about fishing. It is an outdoor story sort of.

Recently an image of bird models went flashing by in one of my Internet feeds. It made me stop. I have a clear memory of those models as a kid and eating lots of cereal to get them. Not sure of what cereal it was (Google claims it was shredded wheat). You sent in box tops and all of your allowance and got the model in back in the mail to put together and paint.

Three species I clearly remember having were a Bluebird an American Goldfinch and a Rose Breasted Grosbeak. There must have been others but don’t remember having any other species in my collection. At the time each species was rare in my young mind, and I hoped to one day see one of each.

Fast forward sixty plus years and we have all 3 species here in the yard. Bluebirds in the birdhouse over our mailbox (some spend the winter in the neighborhood).  Goldfinches at the feeder and really everywhere in the yard all summer and winter. Two pairs of Rose breasted grosbeaks at the feeder and singing everywhere in the treetops for about six weeks every spring.

It is a delight to think that all are still around as species and really are not as rare as I imagined but they clearly fired my imagination a very long time ago. Hopefully I am conjuring similar long term images for you this summer.