'Hoppy' was the nickname that PDM and I gave the scrappy little cardinal who showed up at our feeder one day with a broken leg. This was three summers ago, just after we were married. We were living in an apartment and had hung a couple of bird feeders on our balcony to give us (and Zima) something interesting to look at besides the TV. Hoppy's leg was twisted at an odd angle and her foot was all curled up and useless. I was sure she'd never make it. She surprised me by coming around again and again. Over the next few weeks, the foot on the injured leg slowly shriveled up until one day it was just gone. It was a good thing when the foot finally fell off, because she got around on the leg stump much better without the twisted foot getting in her way. She became very adept at getting around with only one leg, and was a ton of fun to watch. We called her 'Hoppy' for obvious reasons, and looked forward to her regular visits. She came around with some other birds nearly every day and got her fill at the feeder. We probably had a lot of repeat customers, but she was the only one distinct enough to recognize individually.
In February of last year, we moved out of that apartment and into our house. I felt a pang of guilt about leaving Hoppy, but what can you do? Now we are feeding a different flock of cardinals a few miles away. Sometimes when I watch the birds at our feeders, I wonder what became of Hoppy. I hope that she has found another feeder nearby and has managed to avoid predators and hunger. I'd like to think that someone somewhere is writing a blog post about the cute little one-legged cardinal with the big personality who started showing up at their feeder late in the winter of 2006.
7 comments:
I hope Hoppy is doing good and is well-fed - although when I first saw the title of this story, I thought it was going to be another post about drinking...
It sounds like Hoppy had some superior genes that allowed her to not only compensate but thrive with her disability. She must be very strong. I hope she's been able to pass that along to some offspring. Without doubt, they'll be kickass cardinals.
This post really resonated with me. Hoppy sure sounds like a scrappy one and if she adapted to missing a foot, she'll find a new food source. I just hope somebody else is appreciating her just as much as you did.
So you love cats and their prey. That's a really cute story. I'm a bird lover and I feed them as well. I have feeders placed outside windows so we can watch them while we eat, while we clean up, etc. It's a nice treat.
I agreed with you Spidey comments regarding developing the villains for fully. That's exactly how it should have been. More Venom. Harry was great though.
And to make this entry super long, how are you enjoy Heroes? I'm right into it now with the whole Sylar thing. He gives the show much needed drama. Now if they only had humor ... besides Hiro and Ando.
dr s - I don't drink *that* much!
thewritegirl - Hoppy was awesome.
magnetbabe - I hope she found her way alright.
beth - Heroes still rocks. I can't wait to get the boxed set and watch it all together as one long story.
I, too, hope Hoppy is charming others. Of course, I'm enough of a romantic that I hope she shows up at your new bird feeder one day just to surprise you.
kat - I know it's stupid, but I keep looking for her...
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