There is a gentleman living near my neighbor who only eats honey

There is a Gentleman Living Next Door to My House

Recently I was talking to a friend about honey and he said: "I only eat honey, my neighbour eats apples. And the neighbor who eats apples also drinks lemonade." The apple/honey conundrum is the topic of several recent books, including "The Friendship Factor," by boosters of the Atkins Diet. If you read this book, you will understand what the apple-honey connection is all about and why people tend to make wrong judgments when it comes to fitness and eating habits.

First, let me say that there is a gentleman living next door to my neighbor who only eats honey. And he has a perfectly good reason for doing so. Because he grows his own organic cotton. While I grow conventional cotton from seeds bought on the high street, my neighbor grows organic cotton from hundreds of feet of wild grass. While I use pesticides on his hives, he grows without them.

One day, while he and his daughter were tending their hives, they heard something strange buzzing in the distance. It was nothing like an alarm clock or a bug zapper. Instead, it was singing in a deep, hypnotic voice. As they looked closer, they saw a huge goose flying through the sky, calling to the world, "Honey, I am calling you." The couple ran towards their neighbor, grabbed him and shouted: "It's not honey, your honor!"

Another neighbor who follows a vegetarian lifestyle and eats only organic foods occasionally, was out strolling one evening with his dog when he suddenly felt a twinge in his stomach. He thought it was a chicken, but it was moving really fast and wasn't white. Then, he realized it was moving up toward him. Before he could stop it, the bird flew past him and into the nearby shrubbery. Then without warning, the same bird swooped back down to the earth and zoomed right up to the door between his head and the door frame. The astonished owner hollered: "There is a gentleman living next door to my house."

Birds don't announce their presence by screaming or crying. They use body language and their voices to communicate. A well-trained bird watcher can pick up on a variety of signals that a bird may send to its neighbor. In fact, I've seen some birds open their bills to signal to the world (and I've also seen some that simply opens their eyes in surprise) and I have experienced hearing birds talking at me (a great experience!)

Some birds use a variety of calls including chirps, croaks, and squawking to communicate with each other. You may hear different calls from one neighbor to another. Some of these calls are fun to make up yourself. For instance, one of my neighbors loves to make a funny sound like his dogs barking. He even makes phone calls when he's out of town.

This was actually our first encounter and I started laughing so hard. Our mutual friend laughed as well and then mimicked the call. His call was very funny and quite unique. Then he said: "This is a terrible thing!" And added: "If I were the bird, I'd be really upset too." We all felt awful!

Birds have a way of inviting themselves into your lives. If you give them permission, they will come around to your house and sit for a while. If you're lucky, they will even sing to you or call you by name. Now that you know a little more about birds and how to recognize their calls, hopefully you won't be so nervous when there is a fellow bird calling at your door!