Mockingbirds have long been a favorite of mine. Before birds were of great interest to me — as my children will tell you they are now — I could recognize a mockingbird. I have been entranced by their amazing songs. I have been pleased by their presence in my yard. And, I have been mocked by them.
Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I bred Labrador Retrievers. I went to dog shows. I went to field trials. I went to training classes. I traveled long distances for Specialties. I loved Labradors. But, I also recognized that my neighbors might not be so fond of my slavering beasts so I worked to keep said slavering beasts quiet in the yard. The only real way to keep a dog from being noisy in the yard is to correct them every single time they are noisy. And, so when I’d hear barking or whining, out I’d go to stop the situation. It was fun for all of us.
One particular day, lots and lots of whining occurred and I scooted out there. But, the dogs were all asleep. Now, Labradors are pretty up front creatures — what you see is what you get with a Lab. They are not Merry Tricksters. So, when all the dogs were asleep and clearly not whining and annoying the neighbors, I was puzzled. This went on for days before I solved The Mystery of the Whining Dogs.
Given my clever use of the literary technique of foreshadowing, you may have figured out what was going on long before I did. The local Mockingbird had added dog whining to his song rotation. That bird had me hopping up and down all spring — just to be sure it wasn’t the dogs.
Have you been mocked?
Oh, and one last thing . . .
Enjoy!
mother. wife. friend. teacher. writer. reader. photographer. birder. quilter. blogger.
Liza Lee Miller 