Wild Bird Center of Boulder Sep '08 eNewsletter

My grandma Opal Frye died two weeks ago, just six weeks shy of her 104th birthday. She was an amazing person. The oldest of seven sisters - she was determined to outlive all of them. It was unthinkable to grandma that her sisters would not have their older sister to rely on. All of them lived into their 90's, but Grandma Opal was the last survivor.

chicadee

pileated woodpecker

One of gradma's passions was genealogy. For the last several decades, she spent a lot of time typing letters contacting relatives to learn more about her roots. All of her records she kept on her computer and the last I heard she had about 1800 people in her Family Tree. About ten years ago I was walking past her room and noticed that she had her computer all apart on the table. I, of course, had to ask her what she was doing, to which she replied 'my old CD-Rom drive was too slow so I'm installing a faster one'. 'Let me know if you need any help', I said as I kept walking. A half hour later I went by her room again and she was playing a game of freecell just to make sure her computer was working right. She was always busy with projects
be it cooking, needlework, or genealogy. tufted_titmouse

tufted titmouse

white-breasted nuthatch white-brested nuthatch

Another one of grandma's passions was feeding and watching the birds. She lived most of the year at my Uncle and Aunt's house in Columbia, Missouri. My Uncle is an architect with an incredible house build on a wooded hill. They took special care when building not to disturb the trees of their wooded lot so mature trees grow within feet of the house. The living room is at canopy height and it features glass corners so with very little imagination you feel like you're in a tree house. Some of grandma's favorite birds to watch

were tufted titmice, pileated woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees, and, of course, cardinals.

My grandma also despised the squirrels. She spent long hours watching them, cursing them, and trying to defeat them. This was also one of her passions - albeit a negative on.e. However, I should add that

she had great respect for their abilities and ingenuity. squirrel sign

People who feed birds, like sports fans and golfers, have a unique opportunity to enjoy their favorite passion and interest while simultaneously grappling with intense negative emotions. This mix of emotions keeps it interesting and I think it kept grandma going just a little longer.