BIRD BRAWL

“Storm's coming.” I stated as Steven came into the kitchen to help me make dinner.

He pulled up his sleeves and began washing his hands. “Is that what the Weather Channel said?”

I stood next to him and pointed out the window. “Nope, they did.” Dozens of birds were at our feeder jockeying for position. Others were waiting in the nearby trees waiting for the insanity at the feeder to calm down before they made their move. “The only smart ones right now are the Morning Doves.” We watched as two pairs of doves strutted around on the ground, under the feeder, collecting all the seeds that were being dropped from above.

“Did you just fill it?” he asked as he turned off the water and grabbed some paper towels to dry his hands.

I shook my head. “I filled it two days ago.” I pulled the hamburger meat out of the refrigerator and placed it on the counter while Steven pulled out a pan.

“Well the weather station did say we were getting snow tonight.” He put the pan on the stove and opened the package of meat and began making burgers.

“I know but I didn't think it was going to amount to much.” I peeked out the window again to see that even more birds had come. “But, the way these birds are acting, I'm beginning to second guess how much we're going to get.” I opened the refrigerator, pulled out the milk and shook the container that only had an inch left. “Maybe I should run out and get some more.” I put it back on it's shelf and closed the door.

“We're running low on bread, too.” Steven laughed and he put the burgers in the pan and turned the burner on.

“Are we?” I went to the cabinet to check.

“I was kidding!” he said as he reached past me and grabbed the package of rolls. “Isn’t that what everyone does when there's going to be a storm?”

I looked over at Steven as he grabbed the spatula and flipped the burgers. “Do you really want to be stuck in here tomorrow morning with no milk for your coffee?” I asked.

Steven shrugged his shoulders. “But the weather forecasters said it was going to turn into rain.

Now it was my turn to laugh. “And the weather forecasters are never wrong?” I looked out the window at our yard filled with crazed birds. “When it comes to making weather predictions I'll believe the birds before I'll believe people.”

We both looked out the window again. “They do know when the air pressure changes.” Steven admitted. “I guess they must be feeling a pretty big front coming in to be acting this way.”

I took two plates from the cabinet and placed them next to the stove. Then I got the salad I'd already made from the refrigerator and put it on the table. “So it's settled.” I said. “After dinner I'm going to run to the store and get some milk.”

Steven brought the plates over to the table. “Maybe that's a good idea.”

“Can you think of anything else?” I picked up my burger to take a bite.

The windows weren't even open but the noise the birds were making was starting to get pretty loud.

“Yeah...” Steven had raised his voice to be heard over their squawking and tipped his head towards the back yard as he picked up his own burger. “You might want to put more bird seed on your list.”