"YA-BUH-DA-BUH-DUE"

Because I have missed a couple of days of posting re my garden upheaval, I thought I'd post today even though it's not one of my scheduled days, and besides, today is an important day in United States history, as forty-two years ago today, the first episode of The Flintstones, a cartoon series, aired on television, making the phrase "YaBaDaBaDo" popular (the word is pronounced as it is spelled in the title of today's blog entry).

I cannot take credit for remembering the significance of today; as it is Cam (a cardinal who regularly visits my terrace garden) who reminded me of this fact. 

It came up in a conversation I had with her when I was discussing my sequel to one of my garden themed Virtual Stories (mini movies and flip books) within my You Tube Library. 

The one Cam and I were discussing is titled Words in my Beak (Book One), and it featured her exclusively. I was letting Cam know that in the sequel I may include the other birds (Cam's entourage) which also visit here. At this time the birds who come to my garden to nosh include Cam's child, as well as her significant other, house finches, mourning doves, and blue jays.

Cam was apprehensive about sharing the spotlight and pointed out to me that the book's title is "my beak" and not a plural pronoun! Cam explained that her beak is very versatile, and, she told me that one of her ancestor's beaks was the basis for the way birds' beaks were used in The Flintstones! Then Cam referred me to the following video on You Tube!



I had forgotten that in this cartoon series a tip of a bird's beak was "used" as needle for a record player (a turtle); and that its beak followed the groove of the record. Cam glowed with pride for her bygone ancestor whose beak inspired the Flintstones' record player needle. And, in fact, Cam had been gesturing so much as she related the story that she nearly lost her balance (as seen in the image below) from atop the rim of my 'Tamukeyama' (Japanese Red Maple)'s container, a place where Cam loves to perch.

She seems to gravitate towards that vantage point as it gives her a bird's eye view (excuse the pun) into the apartment of the building directly east of me. If it were me, I would not choose that view, as I don't care for television; and, besides, the woman who lives there is constantly using her window sill as an ash tray, as seen in the images below.

Cam is much more tolerant of cigarette smoke than I am; my father had a horrific death due to a bout with emphysema, brought on by his nearly two pack a day Pall Mall habit. Part of his dying words were, "When I die, the cost of cigarettes will sky rocket as the tobacco company will miss my revenue."
Of course, smoking was considered glamourous when he picked up the habit, and, in fact, I had not realized how often smoking occurred in television shows I grew up with — including The Flintstones, as evidenced by the You Tube video included in this entry! But in spite of the fact that the characters in The  Flintstones smoked, the use of the bird's and their beaks was interesting!

"One of the ways The Flintstones used birds in their story-lines," Cam explained to me, "was to have a bird  — one that was Pterodactyl-like) — 'serve' as an airplane, and this bird had a stone passenger cab strapped to its back as it flew to its destination." Cam proceeded to show me how a bird could protray a plane as seen in the photo-ops below.

Evidently, other uses of a bird or its beak in The Flintstones can be found by clicking here. As I surveyed the beaks of the birds who visit my garden, I somehow did not see them doubling as "essentials" as you might also surmise from the folowing images of my various birds' respective beaks.

Would this sweet finch allow her beak to be used as a clothes pin as it was in The Flintstones?
Hard to imagine she'd let go of food long enough to do that! 

In The Flintstones, Wilma held a bird's beak, as it trimmed the pie crust;
my red house finch would munch on the pie every inch of the way!

In The Flintstones, a bird's claw feet rake the grass while Wilma holds the bird by its neck!
My mourning dove has the qualifying claw feet, but nobody can grab its neck!
(Especially when he's playing with his finch pal!)

One of my red house finches heard Wilma (The Flintstones) used the beaks of  2 small birds to crochet a sweater ;
AND he hid in my 'Tamukeyama's' container! (He need not worry; my domestic skills leave a lot to be desired!)

In The Flintstones, the point of  a bird's beak was dipped in ink and used as a pen!
My blue jay's response? "I don't think so . ..  "

While it was clever of The Flintstones to let birds multi-task, I will let my birds do what they do best with their beaks — noshing.

Cam looks as if she's preparing to bob for apples at Halloween

And now that my birds know I'll never turn them into tools, I can attest that I heard them singing, YA-BA-DA-BA-DO!