Bird-Brellas

Aging parents are often the concern of their children as we watch them become more forgetful and slow in step. A recent discovery by me at the front window of my bird-watching parents caused me to pause and reflect – are my parents gaining creativity and inventiveness as they age or have they slipped off the deep end when I wasn’t watching?

I drove up the driveway and what did my eyes behold on this blistering hot July day? A Bird-Brella (I coined this product name for my parents’ invention) had been installed over the birds’ feeder. Nothing more than a child’s bright red umbrella, this Bird-Brella had been installed over the feeder to keep the sweltering sun from roasting the little hummers. The Bird-Brella also gives them a place of shelter from summer showers. Rather inventive, wouldn’t you say?

Hummingbirds hover and hum at their multiple feeders at my parents’ home. As many of us discover when our own nests become childless and empty, we must seek other hobbies and interests to fill our days and lives. First, the hummingbird feeders arrived in their front yard. Finch feeders, binoculars, and bird books followed. Their nest is no longer empty – flying friends are flocking to my parents’ yard where food, shelter, and Bird-Brellas await them.