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A Finch and A
Feline Meet
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upon a time (actually early April) a pretty,
black, nosy cat named Goofy (her given name of
McGuffy just didn't stick) lived in a country
home with lots of large windows. The other three
cats in the household were not nearly as
interesting to her as the comings and goings of
the birds and other critters around the
kabillions of feeders placed here and there in
the backyard. She would watch and wonder and
follow the tricky antics of the lucky ones who
were allowed outdoors. However, she often easily
fell fast asleep in the warm sun beams streaming
in those sun-filled windows. |
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But the strange doings
outside continued to puzzle her, when her eyes
were actually open, of course. Some stuff she
just had to find out for herself.
One day she saw a pretty, yellow goldfinch all
by himself clinging to a Nyjer (thistle) seed
sack just outside the window glass. "Hey you!"
Goofy called out. "Where ya been? The only ones
here all winter were your dull pals. You are a
much prettier sunshiny-yellow color than your
friends. I think it's the color Food Mom wants
to paint the kitchen."
The goldfinch looked toward the window. "I'm not
called 'Hey you' by anyone, ever", he said
puffing up his beautiful plumage. "My name is
Goldy. And what in the world is a kitchen?" |
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Stunned,
Goofy explained, "It's the place where Mrs. Mom
puts Food Guy's meals on a plate for him to eat.
You guys just hang from those bags and sit on
feeder perches for your food and I've seen you
eat from the ground too. Yuck! Even I eat from a
bowl and it has a name- it's called a
per-pet-u-al feeder. Hattie, the linguist cat,
says that means it magically stays full no
matter how much we cats eat. Even though we can,
we really spend more time watching you guys than
stuffing our faces. Although I noticed, birds
seem to eat all day long." |
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In a huff Goldy replied, "We need to eat
frequently to get enough nutrition to do the
things birds do,
l.ike build nests, lay eggs, feed baby birds,
and my personal favorite, defend the territory I
picked out But I
have noticed that you manage to sleep more than
half the day. We birds are ever so grateful that
you and your other roommates are caged inside
and don't come out to play "tag the bird's it"
or "hide and seek the finch" for fun."
"Yah, yah, but seriously, where were you?" Goofy
persisted. |
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With an exasperated sigh Goldy said, "Right
here, you goof!"
"Hey, how'd you know my name?"
Astonished the goldfinch asked, "Your name is
You Goof?"
Now the cat sighed, "No, no they call me Goofy!
But why won't you tell me where you went for the
winter? Is it a big finch secret? A private spot
with no cats allowed even though we live for
warm sun beams?" |
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Another sigh escaped Goldy. "No it happens this
way. We do not migrate South. We molt, which is
the official word (tell that to the linguist
Hattie) for shedding our bright yellow breeding
feathers to grow dull olive colors for winter."
"Then
I guess during the cold weather it wouldn't be
entirely accurate to call you Goldy. How 'bout
Dingy?" |
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Insulted, Goldy flew off in his quick undulating
manner, but not before muttering, "At least you
have the right name year round!"
"Hey,
I heard that!" |
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