Free Spirit Meg

My dad loved birds. He studied them often and knew every bird that crossed his path. If he saw one he didn’t know, he would look it up in the bird book until he figured it out. He was always surrounded by birds. We had quail, pigeons, chickens. We even had a peacock for a quick minute. (It was lost so we kept it in the barn until the owner came to pick it up 😝)

My dad also enjoyed hunting. He use to go pheasant hunting in Iowa every year with my uncles and brother. He loved that trip. He would also go duck hunting along the creek by our house. I went with him one time but that’s a story for a future Inktober prompt.

As my dad got older, he simply enjoyed going bird watching in the marshes and nature preserves. He got himself a fancy camera to take pictures of them. He would excitedly send me the pictures telling me what type of bird it was. He took some really great pictures. I’m going to miss those messages.

We often went bird watching together. We’re a family that likes to be in nature, so bird watching was a common event. It was one of my favorite things to do with my dad. He taught me a lot about birds and now I’m just as passionate about them as he was. It’s going to be a lot harder identifying them without him. However, I hope I can teach my son what my dad taught me and he will grow to love birds the same way.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed my sketch. Check back tomorrow to see Inktober #6, Spirit. Also, enjoy a collection of my dad’s photography below!

Spread your wings, free spirits!