Birds In High Places

Because I am still not able to get out and socialize, it is good to join up with other bloggers who have Wednesday Hodgepodge in common.

Thank you Joyce @ From This Side of the Pond for bringing us together.

1. My hubs spent last weekend pheasant hunting. Are there hunters in your family? If so, what do they hunt? Which of the following have you tasted-pheasant, rabbit, venison, duck, goose? Which of those would you most like to taste, or be most willing to taste?

My dad was a hunter but he mostly hunted for squirrel.  And yes, we ate it.  He also tried raising rabbits for food, but we had trouble chewing those sweet little bunnies.
Hubby enjoyed going duck and pheasant hunting with friends a few years back.  We enjoyed eating all that too.
Son used to like deer hunting when he lived in the south and has the mounted deer head to prove it.  Thanks to avid deer hunting friends, we have had tons of venison.  I guess the only option mentioned that I haven't eaten is goose.

2. What high spot have you visited that gave you a wonderful 'bird's eye view' of something below?

Masada south of Jerusalem, Israel is probably the most memorable high spot.  Amazing!

3. Do you have any birds in your home? These could be either real live pets or decorative, as in bird prints, knickknacks, fabric or pottery.

Yes, I have several Andrea birds that are beautiful decorative pieces and an Audubon plate.  These are my favorite ones.

4. Tell about a time you 'killed two birds with one stone'?

A few minutes ago?  I have to conserve trips so am learning to kill several birds with one trip using the walker.

5. Your favorite song with a bird in it's title?

There were several good "Bird" songs from the 1950's - 70's, such as "Rock'n Robin," or "The Wings of a Snow White Dove."  But, "Yellow Bird" by the Kingston Trio is probably the most memorable.

6. What most recently gave you goose bumps?

Yesterday a friend shared with me how the Lord had recently revealed His will for her in a matter.

7. Halloween is this Friday...any plans? Did you trick or treat as a child? Carve pumpkins? Share your most memorable costume.

No plans other than to have some candy at the door for little neighborhood kids.  No costumes for this one!
As a child growing up in rural south Louisiana in the 50's and 60's, we did not go house-to-house but celebrated times like this more as a community.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I have not pulled out the canvas and paints since the end of July, but am ready to try my hand at painting again.  Since I can sort of maneuver myself short distances without holding on the 4-legged walker, I think its about time.  But, something has happened to my confidence.  What is it about not doing something for a while that creates doubt about one's ability?  I read an interesting article the other day that I could have written myself had I been so gifted.

Anthony Doerr told a story about a Halloween costume experience as a child where he failed miserably to create the costume he envisioned.   He went on to fast-forward that experience to adulthood and I could so relate.

I see this beautiful sweep of paint on a blank canvas or a blog post that no one wants to stop reading - and in the end they are all mere shadows of what I had hoped them to be.  I can't ever really create that masterpiece or articulate those initial thoughts in my head.

Doerr referenced this quote by Flaubert in Madame Bovary:

"None of us can ever express the exact measure of his needs or his thoughts or his sorrow; and human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears to dance to, while we long to make music that will melt the stars."

There will probably always be a great chasm between what we want to make and what we are able to make.  The important thing is that we try.

I love this quote from Anthony Doerr's article, and yes I wish I had been able to express it just like he did:

"I have to remind myself that the beauty is not in the result, but in the attempt.  To build our castles in the clouds - to sew a quilt, to start a painting, even to write a single satisfying paragraph - we need to live with the fear that we will stink, that no one will pay any attention, that we will fall like trees in an empty forest:  the fear that we are going to take our glorious, flawless, nebulous ideas and butcher them on the altar of reality."

Not only is it okay to try and fail, risk being made fun of by stepping out to do something different, or whatever is challenging; it is necessary.

So, I am going to pull out that blank canvas and the paints that speak to me and risk making a huge mess because it is important that I try.