Come Walk with Me
@ ThankU.io 

Twenty-four years ago, when we first moved to the Santa Cruz Mountains, we put out some birdseed and waited. And waited. Finally, one little gray bird arrived. We didn't even know what he was. We named him Fat Freddy, pulled out our bird book and discovered our first mountain junco. When we moved to the mountain 24 years ago, we didn't know much about birds. Down in Silicon Valley, we knew the usual suspects: robins, scrub jays, chickadees and sparrows, with an occasional mou

My great-grandmother, both my grandmothers, and my mama rocked me in this chair. Later, I rocked my daughter and granddaughter in it. Now two treasured little toys keep each other company on the seat. This chair has been part of our family’s love for generations, and I’m grateful it is still here. There is a rocking chair in my house that reaches much farther back than I do. My great-grandmother Mimi rocked me in it when I was a brand-new baby. So did my grandma Ellen, my mam

Two jays, an acorn woodpecker, and a gentleman in his gray suit have gathered at the feeder. I call it my United Nations of birds. While people gather inside our house, the feathered visitors have their own gathering outside. Watching them is one of my everyday pleasures. There are two birdbaths outside my bedroom window. One holds water. The other serves as a seed feeder, and apparently word has gotten around. On this particular visit, two jays, an acorn woodpecker, and one