Bird watching

Every year I looked forward to the week we would get to visit my grandma at the beach. She had a really gorgeous house with a big screened in porch that looked out into a forest, swamp, or forest again (depending on which year and in turn which house). Every morning I would find her sitting out there just looking. Birdwatching. She had these little binoculars that didn't really work and a big book about native birds in her area. We would look through and try to find as many of the varieties as possible. One year she even made all the kids a list and turned the whole thing into a competition. We would check off every time we saw one of the birds on the list, and at the end of the week the winner would get a special prize. Now, I of course did not win because I didn't wake up early enough to sit out for a long time and watch the birds, but she still gave everyone something. We all got these little wooden birds attached to a string. I think they were intended to be Christmas ornaments or something but mine is hanging on my window. Every time I look at it I'm reminded of those blissful years, and peaceful mornings looking at birds with the most wonderful woman I know.