Honestly, I became dependent on them to heal me like a drug. Thankfully, I'm no longer sick with migraines. That nightmare ended.
Sadly, in April of 2012 I became afflicted with a new nightmare, idiopathic chronic hives. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urticaria
Since childhood, I always want to do things and go places, but traveling has proven to be too difficult. Having a chronic ailment can make me feel very alone, isolated and depressed. Stress creeps in, and I get struck with an outbreak.
February was our 11th anniversary so we took a trip to Vegas. The night we arrived...the excitement was too much and I ended up in the emergency room. We tried a trip in April 2013 for my birthday and I got sick again. Anyway, for my health I've cancelled plans to go on a wonderful birding adventure in Mexico, and I wasn't able to travel to South Dakota to see our Grandson graduate high school, or to my folks for dad's 75th birthday. That said, I still want invited to do things so I can choose to go if I'm feeling okay. My biggest fear about telling fellow birders I'm sick is that they won't invite me to go birding and I'm not always afflicted. Obviously, it all makes me sad.
Still, I'm so grateful to the little creatures for helping me through such difficult times. Actually, I'm oddly grateful that I fell ill because that pain brought me to the joy of birding.
Now, rarely a day goes by that I don't go outside to see my birds. I say "my" because some have become like family pets and have been given names, like "Homer" the Costa's hummer and "Bossy" the Anna's. From tiny hummers to swooping hawks, they're all welcome in my yard, any time! When they visit, there is always water, food, shelter and love.
Living in southern Arizona has also contributed to my 'bird addiction'. There are more bird species in this region than practically anywhere else in the United States. Well, that's an exaggeration, but I think it's about 485 total species in AZ, to California's 600+. The numbers in southern Arizona are very impressive.
While I am truly still a novice, I will do my best to identify any photos with complete accuracy. If I've gotten something wrong, please feel free to correct me! I enjoy the sharing process and have so much to learn. Oh, and speaking of learning, please forgive any writing flaws. My blogging is for fun and not for school credit. <wink>
P.S. If you have any ideas on a bird addiction cure please keep it to yourself, I don't want to quit!