The Birds!

There is an odd phenomenon that occurs when I’m mowing. A large group of birds swoops just in front of my mower as I mow along. What is unusual, in my mind, is that these birds will buzz me continually the whole time I'm mowing. They swoop down at me from all sides and break away only a few feet from me or the mower; they come from all angles, high and low, front and back, left and right. It's a very entertaining display of bird acrobatics and I enjoy it immensely. I suspect they are catching the insects that fly out of the grass ahead of me. They may be swallows, though I really wouldn’t be able to pick a swallow out of a bird line up, but it sounds like the kind of bird that would eat insects. Lately, the insects seem to have caught onto their plight because they are hanging out closer and closer to me to the point I fear one of those birds may actually hit me.

I can see the headlines now . . . “Rural Iowa Woman Loses Eye in Bird Strike”. Now mind you, I’m more concerned about being referred to as a rural Iowa woman than losing an eye. I have made my husband promise that if I die by farm accident, he will drag my lifeless body to the nearest town and make up something interesting because I do not want those words included in my obituary!

(On another note, why is it when you Google “Rural Iowa Woman” you mostly get mug shots?)