National Let the Birds Sing Whatever They Want Day

In honor of National Pets Day, which IS today, I'll let this photo of Foster represent our bevy of Lovestead pets, which do include horses, dogs, a cat and a whole lot of singing and talking birds.

The other day when a robin approached and wanted to join in on a conversation (I kid you not) with my neighbor Colleen and me as we stood at the end of our driveway, I decided that all the birds singing their happy tunes here at the Lovestead can be included as part of our pet menagerie.

So, happy Pet Day to all the two legged and four-legged members of our pet family.

I shall NOT include the greedy moles and/or mice that gorge themselves on my baby corn and cucumbers as part of the herd.  In fact, I'm hoping all those traps I set out there in the greenhouse diminish their numbers. 

Anyway, they say this morning on Facebook that it's "National Pet Day." Pictures of adorable animals are already appearing.

I just can't keep up with all these "National" days. Someone even commented on Facebook that they wondered how long "National Siblings Day," which was yesterday, had been going cuz they'd never heard of it before.   

That's probably because of their disappointment, learning about National Siblings Day late in the day yesterday and hadn't had time to sort through their thousands of photos to find pictures of their siblings (all loving each other, of course).

That's kinda how it was with me yesterday.  I think it was 4 p.m. when I finally realized after scrolling through the multitude of vintage family photos on Facebook that there really must truly be a National Siblings Day.  

So, I found a photo from a collection sent to me a couple of years ago by Chris Pietsch, who had spent my wedding week back in 1974 partaking in family activities and snapping lots of pictures.  

The envelope of black-and-white prints he sent was a true treasure for me, having lost most of my family photos in our 1984 fire. 

Sadly, prints fade or develop funny patterns on their surface as years go by, as is evident by the one below. Nonetheless, the gathering is priceless in my mind.  

It does not include all our family because I know others showed up by wedding day, but it does include the six siblings and our parents.  

To see this photograph and to remember my parents and our Aunt Lena Mae and Uncle Frenchy (he was Mother's brother) gives me goosebumps every time I look into their faces and marvel at both Mother and Harold's dark hair. 

Though the quality of this print is diminished, the love for these family members at whatever stage of their lives in which they appear in photos cannot be measured in words. 

So, let the images talk and remember and rejoice their impact on each of us and ours on theirs.  I think I like National Siblings Day, especially this year because it gave me an excuse to take some time travel to the past. 

Posting the photo on Facebook also evoked some memories from others who knew the family.  

One, in particular, Tim Benson, has been a lifelong friend of our brother Jim (he's the one on the right on the ground with Laurie and Kevin and Joyce's son Scott.

Tim Benson's family lived here for a couple of decades.  His dad worked at the U of I experiment farm, and they lived up Gooby Road.  Tim and Jim took some great adventures together during their youth.

Anyway, last night Tim was doing his best to identify the family members, including the "dude who was the Vietnam vet who flew a Huey."  

Never mind that he had the wrong name for both the helicopter and the vet----what inspired me was how many rather vivid memories regarding our family that Tim took with along him through life. 

Fun to see what such images elicit in the memories of both family and friends, and always fun to be reminded a good times past.   

So, what National Day is tomorrow gonna be?  If I were picking, I'd certainly give the birds some credit for what they do---without pay, glitz or fanfare---every spring morning outside all our windows.  

I think they deserve a day of their own----maybe even a TV program to determine the best bird sounds around.  

They do carry some pretty nice tunes, and that's a whole better than what I can do in the music department.  Plus, they remind us, with their tunes that there's a lot of good going on out there in the world, and it's not just humans doing the good stuff.

How's that for deep thoughts?

By the way, tomorrow is really a National Day of sorts for our family.  We'll be remembering Harold, our dad/stepdad, who would have been 99 this year.  So, I've got some neat photos to post in honor of him and what he meant to us. 

Speaking of which, I noticed that Tim Benson posted a vivid memory of Harold about one night when he was standing in the family living room between our dad and the television set where Harold's favorite Willie Nelson was crooning away.

"You make a better door than a window," Harold hinted to Tim.  Tim got the hint, moved out of the way and Harold continued watching Willie.  

Until Tim mentioned it on Facebook, I'd forgotten about that favorite saying, among many classics, which Harold used a time or two. 

So, I'll just end this Saturday post with another of his classics, "Keep your nose clean!"