Of Bucket Lists and Fair Trades

                                               

Here's the thing about bucket lists: they don't always stay the same. When you get older and not in such good health and low on energy, you remove some things. Reality is that you're never going to accomplish them and they don't mean as much as they once did. I have taken seeing Ireland and living in the country from my bucket list. Those were great passions when I was younger but not anymore.

But what is so cool about life is that it puts new items in your bucket, retroactively. You are delighted to find things you never even knew you desired.

For instance, in the last two weeks, I have seen two birds I'd never seen before in my 72 years. The first appeared at my bird feeder, dramatically black and white and red. I hurried to Google to describe him and discovered that he was a Rosy-Throated Grosbeak (also called Rosy-Breasted Grosbeak). Google told me that he was most likely just passing through on his trip farther north for the summer. He came every day for about a week and then he was gone but oh, my Gosh, how grateful I was that he chose to spend his layover with me!

My second bird is a Baltimore Oriole (now known as an American Oriole). LeAnn told me her mother put out grape jam to attract orioles. I'd never heard of such a thing but I bought some raspberry jam (grape jam is strangely difficult to find around here). About a week later, there was my oriole. I recognized this one right away because I'd seen so many pictures of his distinctive orange and black colors. He's come almost every day since.

So my Grosbeak and my Oriole were two surprise additions to my bucket list.

Susan Stewart brought me me a mess of mushrooms (already cooked and warm) and a vase of lilacs and bleeding heart for Mother's Day, not to mention that my daughter-in-law sent me a huge bouquet of flowers. My kitchen looks and smells of pure spring but the mushrooms were the bucket list item for this season. Some people laud the "land of milk and honey" but I'll take the "land of mushrooms and blue gill", thank you very much!

Jan brought me a new cat. He wasn't exactly a bucket list item. He's feral. I'll keep him in the garage for a while with food and water and hope he starts to feel that this place is his home base. Then I'll let him out and what happens next will be on him. Jan wanted rid of him because he picks on the other young cat that hangs out at her house. So maybe I saved the littler cat from being a victim of thugism. The one here, I named him Coal, is gorgeous with long black-hair. Perhaps I'll introduce some new blood into the feral cat population around here.  (It would take too long to explain why I didn't have him neutered).

See how easy it is to justify putting something in your bucket list that you didn't even want?

Out come Ireland and the country, in go Grosbeaks and wild cats. At this stage of my life, I consider it a fair trade.