You’re gonna wanna hold on to your hats – and any other bits of clothing that tend to fly off when you’re excited – but I have something new to report.
Also – are you seated?
Because there are birds.
In the trees.
I know! It had me blinking, I can tell you that much, but there – up there – in the trees, are birds.
Singing, chirping, non-Crow birds.
Surely barefootedness is just around the corner?
It’s been a long season.
Oh, come on, Pearl! You live in Minnesota! It’s not like you didn’t see the winter coming.
I hear you. I acknowledge your line of thinking.
But you are wrong. I didn’t see winter coming, not for what it really is, just like I don’t really see summer coming. You must know by now that the only way one can live in a part of the world like Minnesota is to develop seasonal amnesia.
Winter? Said during the heavy-wet-wool-blanket of heat known as August, the word has no power at all. Winter is but a brisk breeze, longed-for, recalled fondly as an excuse to wear adorably fuzzy sweaters and drink ourselves silly during toasty parties with others of our kind.
Summer? Summer, recalled during the I-think-my-eyeballs-are-frozen depths of blue-aired winter, is a skin-kissed dream of dappled sunlight and freshly mown lawns and not the stay-on-your-side-of-the-bed-there’s-not-enough-talcum-powder-in-the-world experience sure to come…
We forget the seasons, each and every time.
And are therefore continually surprised.
By birds. In trees.
The birds have returned. Next week the last of the snow may – or may not! – disappear. Not far behind that will be the buds on the trees and crocuses pushing up through the grateful earth.
We are eager. We are giddy. And we are ready to expose our limbs to the public.
I mean it, guys. I’m going to take off my coat eventually.
In other news, my friend "lisleman" at A Few Clowns Short created an xtranormal clip of a post I wrote a while back of Mary and I talking during a serving gig. It is here, for your amusement. :-) I love it and want to thank him from the bottom of my heart!!
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49 comments:
All I can say is, baby you got some good moves in that there video!
Sarah, it keeps me young. :-)
Ha! You have such a sexy voice! Mary's is a bit butch tho' d'ya think? :¬)
Our birds have been back a while now, two sets of doves, they live in the tree in our back garden. Wake me up too early with all their cooing, little feckers! :¬)
xxx
Map. :-) The morning (mourning?) doves are here as well. Little feckers indeed!!
I so wish I could have seasonal amnesia about our summers, but they are seared into my brain. The fiery sun has scarred me, permanently. Every year I threaten to move. But I'm a southern girl through and through, so I guess that's the price I have to pay. :/
Belle, what you need is a hard, ugly dose of winter. :-) Come up north next January. Come to Minneapolis. We'll stand outside for a bit, take the light rail to the Mall of America, and have a margarita and a big ol' bowl of guacamole and you will go home a grateful -- and possibly frostbit -- woman. :-)
I'm here for ya, baby.
You know how to shake it, Pearlie girl!!! What a great little video! ;-)
Seasonal amnesia!! Love it! We, too, are highly afflicted with that same disorder here in Manitoba.
I hate the doves too. When I lived in San Diego, they coo at all hours. I could have strangled the little buggers!
That’s ‘colours’, with a U. Repent your heathen ways and use the true spelling!
Watch out what falls out when you finally take that coat off! I love the intonation of the voices in the video. I am going to talk that way all day.
I am glad spring is on it's way up north.
And that video cracked me up.
We have Spring down here in Paradise too. The birds are here all year round, though. But in Spring, there are new ones... passing through on their way back to Minnesota and other parts of the often frozen tundra we call "The Nawth" from their winter vacation down in South America someplace. But it's the birds that are leaving after their stay here that are the important sign of Spring. That would be the "Snowbirds", the people who come down here to crowd our roads, golf courses, and restaurants and avoid that cold weather up there.
Great video. Has it gone viral yet?
Love the video. My first dog's name was Perky, which I have always thought would make a good stripper name. I'm not wearing a winter coat any more, just a light jacket so I'm pretty sure spring is here.
Ponita, I knew you'd know what I was talking about!
Drake, I got only one word wrong in all of my fifth grade spelling tests. Because I'd been reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I spelt the word "honor" "honour". I argued with the teacher, but she wouldn't change it.
But let's have a drink and discuss the word "aluminium", because you guys are absolutely right. :-)
Betty, I love that. :-)
Douglas, everyone hates the snow birds but everyone loves their cash influx! I have a friend who in Florida who complains about the migratory patterns of the wealthy but gladly accepts their money. Go figure!
As for the video, I don't think it has, no. :-) but I do feel a cold coming on, so maybe that's a good sign...
Belle, Perky would be a fantastic stripper name. I would gladly tuck-a-buck in the bloomers of someone who's stage name was "Perky". :-)
Seasonal amnesia is a lot like why women think they want to have children.
How soon we forget...
Seasonal Amnesia is a necessary coping skill. I know EXACTLY what you mean. Almost as strange as the New Baby Amnesia that makes you forget the nine months of hell, the triple hell of delivery, and the twenty-some years that follow. A good cure for that one is having a spud truck run over your foot. Brings it all back.
OH! LOOK, BIRDIES! (tries to do a giddy dance like Pearl and Mary in the cool little vid).
Crap! Does that mean I'll have to shave the fur off my legs?
Sounds like Dolly is going to be busy
What a great little clip. Now I know the girls from Minnesota have a little junk in their trunk.
I don't show skin until is is 70 degrees. Being a southerner I have very thin blood. I agree with Louisiana Belle, I need a little summer amnesia. Once the warm weather hits we get the biting flies, I would rather be cold.
So funny! But about the crows. They are more intelligent than some people I know, and I like 'em. Just saying.
Love it!
I woke up to birds this morning too. Unfortunately, I felt so cruddy, it actually made me think about that Friends episode where Phoebe's boyfriend shoots the bird and she dumps him. As in, I briefly thought about strangling those sweet little signs of spring.
Pearl,
Thank you and Mary too (but I guess she doesn't have her own blog - is she using you for PR?) for provide the great material. Also thanks for the shout-out.
Oh about the birdies - did the bird shit come back too? Always some bad with the good I guess.
thanks again.
I saw a starling this morning in Montreal!
- Jazz
Oh, if only you could teach.
The video was adorable....such moves you have, girl! They tell us we may have snow here in Maine tomorrow. AARRGGHHH!
HEARING them is what makes my spirits feel brighter.
So, do you not have birds in the winter? There are lots of them around here all year long.
Well you know I was all fucking giddy about this too and spinning around and little birds were landing on my hands and then it SNOWED yesterday. It SNOWED. After 60 degrees??? WTF Ohio. WTF.
Dang girl That yoga gave you some nice Abs!!
Pearl, when I was young it was "Tourists go home! (but leave your daughters)". Now it's "Thanks for the money, now go home."
I think that's pretty consistent.
Yes! I awake singing WITH the birds.
I know, right?
Winter sucks a fat one. Birds come back all cocky because they flew away while we endured hell.
F birds, and F winter.
Go Cubs.
Caleb
Yeah, birds here, too. My Facebook status this morning was: Definition of spring in Newfoundland: Listening to the birds sing while you brush the snow off your car.
Sounds like it would work for Minnesota, too.
Susan, ahh! Wish I’d made that connection while writing…
Leenie, you and Susan are on the same track! Love the spud truck comparison…
Leenie, Yes. That’s what it means. :-)
Glen, Dolly Gee is a chattering fool for the birdies.
Lifeshighway, biting flies? Like horse flies?! Luckily we don’t get those in the city. As for exposed flesh, the first day it hits 50 I’m going barefoot!
Jenny-o, my brother says that if you split a crow’s tongue it can speak. Really. Just ask him. :-)
Gini, it’s still dark when I leave for the bus, but the singing birds really caught my attention. It was lovely.
Lisleman, seems our car is covered with it year-round. :-) It’s a classy look our neighbors are jealous of, I’m sure.
Oh, and THANK YOU for the clip. That was so much fun. Let me know if I can ever write something for you. I take requests.
Haphazardlife, it’s amazing what we get excited about after winter, isn’t it?
Jimmy, if only I could learn!
Eva, we are expecting snow Sunday. Ha ha ha!!!
Green Girl, exactly. Like chirpy little promises…
Cake Betch, I’d laugh, but at this point it’s just too close to crying. We’re expecting snow Sunday…
Simply, I look pretty good for my age, don’t I? :-)
Douglas, I’m heading to Florida for a weekend soon. I promise to tip heavily. :-)
Linda, you and me both!!
Secret Agent Woman, how did I miss you? Yeah, the only birds in the winter seem to be crows, starlings, the odd cardinal here and there. No song birds. When the robins show up, we know the end is in sight...
Caleb, and GO TWINS!!
Wrath of Dawn, exactly. It is the same way here. It's just a little while longer, Dawn. Just a little while longer...
Seasonal amnesia - I love it! We have just a touch of it here - we are not nearly as afflicted as you must be.
Currently, we are dealing with Mother Nature's cruelty - last week was beautiful and in the 80's. The birds were singing, the phlox was blooming, etc.
This week? We've had freezing rain, snow, freezing temperatures and lots of rain. Right about now, I'm not saying nice things about Mother Nature.
Spring is here. You know how I know? I'm being harassed by some protective flying parents every time I step out lately.
I heart sun :)
It means I don't have to wear my cowl necks under my sundresses anymore!
That video is superb! Thank you for brightening my day with your post and the link to it.
Yesterday it was 60 degrees here. I delivered mail all day in a t-shirt and jeans.
Today it is snowing.
SNOW-ing.
But that's New England for ya.
Seasonal amnesia -- there's a lot of truth to that theory. But I think a case could also be made for climate amnesia. Last week, in LA, it was rainy and cold (cold by LA standards - 50s at night - BRRR!). I longed for the Sun and the heat. Today, it approached 90 degrees. I missed last week's rain...
It funny that you actually have seasons. Come on down to California where it's either been raining or 87 degrees...then rainy again. And it only seems to want to rain on the weekends.
Oh, and we have crows. Massive crows. They give you the stink-eye when you walk past. Creepy things, them...
It snowed twice in north Texas this year and I was absolutely miserable! Spring is here and I''m loving it. My daffodils and tulips have bloomed and already lost their petals. My peonies have broken through the ground and will be here soon!
The only problem with winter passing is I now have to wait another 9 months before I get the chance to write my name in the snow.
I get up early and that's one thing that makes it worth while.When I'm walking along to my car in the parking lot just as the sun is peeking over the horizon...I hear the peeps of the birds. Silence and their chirps. I love it.
Being from another of the frozen tundra states, Michigan, I know exactly what you mean about seasonal amnesia. I look at all of the snow sitting on the cover of our pool and think "Was it ever really summer? Did we really swim?" At this very moment, I can't remember what it feels like to walk outside and have your breath taken away by the heat and humidity.
For the Bird Haters: Yeah. Them dern things almost drown out the sweet morning traffic. The happy guy slamming my recycling bin into the middle of the street. The school buses' air brakes.
Will they never stop ... it's that incessant rhythmic nonstop twitchy tweety twitterpated cheesy chirping ... GAHHH ... I miss the snowplows.
hmmmm......days here are surrounded by magnificent blooming azaleas with both white and pink dogwoods in the background, along with beautiful redbuds - and daffodils greeting the sun with their upturned faces - and then, there are the bees.....and the wasps.....and the yellow jackets......but spring comes and that's all that matters!!! ;)
The other day it started snowing. I cried, sobbing really - thankfully it was short lived.
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