<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Sithy Things]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://aggiesprite.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[LC Aggie Sith]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://aggiesprite.wordpress.com/author/aggiesprite/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Flighty]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p>This morning found me in a grey world. Overcast and cooler outside, and slight drizzles, the kind that are light enough to stand in, but hell to drive in. And as usual, the people who freak out over condensed moisture were out and about making a nuisance for everyone. One lady had her hazards on and was driving ten miles under the speed limit. How do I know it was the drizzle and not car trouble that made her slow and cautious? Because she was hunched over the steering wheel, peering through the windshield like it was covered in mud.</p>
<p>We have a few of them around here. Rain is <em>that</em> unusual.</p>
<p>Anyway, as I was waiting at the stop light, I looked up, and saw the migratory grackles, all in rows.</p>
<p><a href="https://aggiesprite.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/birds-on-wires.jpg"><img data-attachment-id="2954" data-permalink="https://aggiesprite.wordpress.com/2013/02/12/flighty/birds-on-wires/" data-orig-file="https://aggiesprite.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/birds-on-wires.jpg" data-orig-size="960,720" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-image-title="birds on wires" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="https://aggiesprite.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/birds-on-wires.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://aggiesprite.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/birds-on-wires.jpg?w=960" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2954" alt="birds on wires" src="https://aggiesprite.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/birds-on-wires.jpg?w=490&#038;h=367" width="490" height="367" srcset="https://aggiesprite.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/birds-on-wires.jpg?w=490&amp;h=367 490w, https://aggiesprite.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/birds-on-wires.jpg?w=150&amp;h=113 150w, https://aggiesprite.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/birds-on-wires.jpg?w=300&amp;h=225 300w, https://aggiesprite.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/birds-on-wires.jpg?w=768&amp;h=576 768w, https://aggiesprite.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/birds-on-wires.jpg 960w" sizes="(max-width: 490px) 100vw, 490px" /></a></p>
<p>I had to laugh, thinking of a much younger Eldest the first time she noticed them here in winter:</p>
<blockquote><p>Eldest: Daddy, why are there still so many birds around? Don&#8217;t they fly south for the winter?</p>
<p>Hubby: Honey, they <em>did.</em> THIS is the south they fly to!</p>
<p>Eldest: Why not go to Mexico? It&#8217;s way warmer.</p>
<p>Me: Because there they are part of the food chain, honey.</p>
<p>Eldest: 😯</p></blockquote>
<p>No, it&#8217;s true. I&#8217;ve partaken of pigeon and grackle stew before on my many visits there. Good stuff, too! No sense in being delicate about the Circle of Life™, you know. But really, I just wanted to freak her out.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m a mom. It&#8217;s my job 😉</p>
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