Here's a lovely group picture of some of the friends I'm hanging out with over the weekend. It's sunny and unseasonably warm outside, as per usual, but I'm tired and fairly unmotivated to do much of anything. I have been watching activity in the backyard and the usual birds are present:
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Black-capped Chickadee
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Blue Jay
Northern Cardinal
Cedar Waxwing
American Goldfinch
House Finch
Morning Dove
House Sparrow
I don't feel like reading or watching television, but listening to music works. Beethoven's Triple Concerto is presently playing and I imagine it a theme for my immune system to initiate an all-out assault against whatever bug is responsible. The first wave of the attack by this virus began with a bang so loud that I lost nearly all my hearing in my left ear for over 2 weeks, but it's going out via the classic sneezing, coughing and disgusting snotty mess.
Thankfully, my hearing has returned but I have permanent tinnitus - a constant ringing in both ears I've had for over 15 years (too many rock concerts during my rebellious youth). The amazing thing is that it actually seems to help me hear birds. There's something about the tonal frequency of birds that cancels the ringing, in effect, amplifying their songs. In a group of birders, I'm usually the first person to pick up and identify a particular song, even at considerable distances. Tinnitus...it's a common affliction of musicians. Heck, even Beethoven had it.
Image © 2007 Mike McDowell
