Do You Have the Time?

We have a clock that sings every hour. The time is indicated by twelve lovely illustrations of different birds. The bird o’clock bird of the hour sings or chirps or pecks to sound the hour.  For example, high noon is the owl. At 12:00AM and again at 12:00PM, the owl hootie-hoot-hoots. It’s the same principle as a cuckoo clock, but our clock has a dozen bird songs instead of the one little cuckoo that can chirp up to twelve times. 

Friends have asked why there isn’t a crow or a seagull in the mix. Perhaps their songs could be  interpreted as annoying. Or obnoxious.  I don't think I would go for the crow— there's a reason a flock of them is called a murder of crows. 

I have seen clocks like ours with dogs barking the time or cats meowing, even Harley Davidson motorcycle sounds. And trains.  Not my cup of tea. 

I ride a nice Appaloosa with friends and their horses. We each have plenty of tack and accessories, but there’s always room in our homes or closets for something equine related. OOOOOOOOOOh! We should invent a horse clock! Nickers at noon! Clippity-clops at 3. Horsey farts at 5!    OK.    Maybe not.

In the meantime, we’ll just enjoy the odd little birdsongs on our clock on the wall. It sits near the telephone so when the bird o’clock chirps, peeps or warbles during a conversation, the caller often thinks we are either outside in the woods or at a pet store next to the canaries. We actually had two parakeets that would compete with the bird of the hour, seeing who could chirp the loudest.  

Oh dear. It’s nearly half past Black-capped Chickadee. 
                                                               “chicka-deee-dee-deee, chicka-deee-dee-deee"

I’d better get some work done around here.