The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 46, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 15, 2001 Page: 20 of 28
twenty eight pages : ill. ; page 19 x 13 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
a
THURSDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2001
ik e**uU*» RECORD
A Memorial Service
in honor of
Mary Elizabeth White
will be held
Saturday, November 17
at 10:30 a.m. at the
I First Christian Church
LEARNING
THE
BIRDS
By Ruth Rogers Erickson
her out that morning she wouldn’t
come down from the tree anyway,
I wished her the best of luck and
hit the road.
Coming home a few days later,
I braced myself. I wasn’t entirely
comfortable with my
bird-parenting skills, and as you
know it’s a jungle out there. But I
heard a high-pitched whiny whis-
tle, then she fluttered into view,
apparently fine and even glad to
see me. Shy at first, she ate seed
and drank water from a distance,
but soon came running to my
hand. She pecked at my fingers
with what I choose to believe is af-
fection, then flew to my knee and
sat trembling and whistling for
quite some time. She seemed her
same old nervous self. She also
seemed not at all inclined to come
inside, for which 1 was heartily
glad. And so began the second
phase of our relationship, the out-
side phase.
Now the important thing I’ve
learned here is this: a tame wild
bird in the house is largely a
thankless burden, but a tame wild
bird outside is a blast!
I’ve had some experience al-
ready with Gimpy, a crippled wild
turkey who is quite tame and will
come close if I speak to him in
soothing tones. But he doesn't let
me touch him.
And touch transforms the ex-
perience. When a wild creature
sweeps down into your lap, or
onto your shoulder, it is a genuine
thrill. A bird that will sit in your
hand is warmly soft and appealing
— touch is the bridge between
our two worlds. Plus there is a
magical, Mary Poppins quality to
a yard where a tame wild thing
visits — it’s like living in a Disney
cartoon.
This little bird enjoyed gar-
dening, and liked to follow me
around on my chores. I was dig-
ging holes this fall, planting trees,
and she would haunt the rim,
dodging my spade, until the hole
was deep enough for her to jump
into the bottom and look up. I'd
lift her out and start again, not
unhappy to repeat the game
It occurs to me that people ac-
cused of being witches may have
raised wild things like my little
dove and been discovered in their
presence — with a bird on their
shoulder or a fawn at their side.
No wonder the rumors spread!
Then, alas, long before I’d
come to the end of this train of
thought, the little bird flew away.
At least, I hope she flew away —
.she’s disappeared at any rate. For
a day or two, 1 held out hope of an-
other glimpse of her, but weeks
later she’s still gone. I'm worried
and guilt-ridden and proud, all at
once.
This I believe is the so-called
tricky part. Maybe I was a bad
parent Maybe my own insuffi-
ciencies doomed my little friend.
What do I know about eluding
predators, or seeking shelter, or
finding food, and if 1 did know
how would I convey this to the
bird? What I don't know could fill
up a room. What business did I
have taking on the little bird?
In the end, there is no answer
you can point to, at least none that
I can find. Sometimes a wild thing
falls into our hands and we take
charge of what we’re given. We
can offer care and comfort for
awhile, but eventually, they’ll be
on their own. We can only do the
best we can and wish them well. I
suppose.
I know I for one will be looking
sharp next spring, listening for a
high-pitched whistle, and hoping
for a tame wild thing to come qui-
etly down (with what l choose to
believe is affection), right back
into my hand.
social
l events a
As you may recall, I found a
baby mourning dove last month
or so, and took her inside. After
weeks of hand feeding, much
struggle and insufficient bonding,
I made the rather heartless deci-
sion to put her outside when I was
called out of town. I was taking a
chance — she was pretty small.
But she'd been eating seed and
taking water for awhile now, and
was getting big — her long
pointed tail-feathers were begin-
ning to brush against the sides of
the cage. The time of change was
at hand.
She had been outside once be-
fore — sans cage — for one en-
tire afternoon. Sometimes I’d let
her practice perching on the
lower branches of the juniper
trees, but this time she flew im-
mediately into the very top and
refused all invitations to come
down until dusk, when she heard
the coyotes start up. Then she
flew down into reach, and I picked
her up and took her inside.
So when a trip came up, the die
was cast. And, since after I'd let
BILL AND WILLA JEAN SHELTON
Golden Anniversary
celebration planned
Bill and Willa Jean Shelton of Allison will celebrate their 50th Wed-
ding Anniversary with a reception in their honor hosted by their chil-
dren and grandchildren. The event will take place on Saturday,
November 24th from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of the Allison
United Methodist Church.
Hosting the occasion are the couple's sons and daughter-in-law,
Mark and Jan Shelton of Perkins, Oklahoma and Vernon “Rusty"
Shelton of Boulder, Colorado, and their grandchildren, Ryan, Chris,
Jared, Laura and Sarah Shelton of Perkins.
Friends and family members are invited to come and share in this
special milestone in their lives. No gifts, please.
Qbihtmad Shop
at 209 N. Cuyler In Pampa
invited you to come in and towt
aux newly expanded wonderland
of, holiday ornament*, CAri*tma* light*,
wreath*, garland*, acce**orie* and gifto,
gowtmet food item* and traditional
Chri*tma* village*.
Great ideas for your tree
and sure-to-please
gifts to put under it!
LjMJMinHMMIMMlHMRMMIMMlMMNHMM
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Ezzell, Nancy & Brown, Laurie Ezzell. The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 46, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 15, 2001, newspaper, November 15, 2001; Canadian, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth737675/m1/20/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hemphill County Library.