The Feeder Feed: Of cardinals and pigs and … grilling….

A reader asked about “Ray”.  “Ray” is every Cardinal (the member of the finch family) who has occasionally appeared on these electronic pages.

Since I moved from the Sabine Farm to the Steam Pipe Trunk Distribution Venue, I have not had an avian Ritz-Carlton outside my office window.  I have now only an avian … Wendy’s (or perhaps better… Culver’s).

That said, here are a few shots of Ray and his trusty sidekick Rayette.

Rayette likes to look in my window.  She isn’t as twitchy as Ray.  Or should I say that she isn’t as bright as Ray?

She isn’t the only one who looks in my window.  A few nights ago I found Rocket J. Squirrel on the ledge, the little voyeur.

This is the only sort of squirrel able to make it to the feeder.

Meanwhile, and apropos nothing, here is a pig on a bridge, who was part of the Christmas tree decorations – the accompanying presepio – at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  Every Christmas display needs a pig on a bridge.

And, watch this segue, here is The Marriage of the Virgin by Michelino da Besozzo from about 1430.

Above it all, there is a bird, a dove, looking on from its little perch.  The seems to have a… halo… no?  Yes?  Holy Spirit?  Sitting on a perch?  I don’t recall that in other renderings of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove.

Finally, apropos of even less, someone sent a photo of some Z-Swag “in the wild”!  I enjoy these photos from out there in the world.

Swanky!

Get your Z-Swag HERE.

UPDATE:

I was asked for more about The Bridge Pig.

Here is a closer view.

But if you think the Nativity Swine is spiffy, try this!

Did your Christmas scene at home or in your parish have this?

A monkey with cymbals.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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18 Comments

  1. Nicholas Shaler says:

    I have not seen you advertising this before, very swaggy Father.

  2. mamajen says:

    I was going to suggest avian Chick-fil-a in all seriousness, but fortunately it dawned on me that it probably wouldn’t be the best idea considering the patrons. Still waiting for my coffee to do its thing. Maybe if it was Mystic Monk…

    Glad to see the Feeder Feed again! I have a fondness for birds.

  3. wanda says:

    The birdz are back. So happy to see the Feeder Feed and Rocket J., the flying squirrel! I imagine he enjoyed a bit of warmth up against the window as well as the buffet. That first pic of Ray is beautiful. We have quite a few more Cardinals at the feeder this year than I ever remeber seeing.
    Thanks for sharing the birdie photos and the others.
    P.S. I don’t see a pig on a bridge…I wouldn’t want to miss seeing that!

  4. Luvadoxi says:

    I didn’t see the pig picture, but I once saw Ralph the swimming pig in Aquarena Springs in Texas :)

    http://bad-postcards.tumblr.com/post/519993404/ralph-the-swimming-pig-aquarena-springs-san

  5. Suburbanbanshee says:

    I think that’s Joseph’s (soon to be flowering) rod, which ties in with the Rod of Aaron.

  6. StWinefride says:

    But Father! But Father!
    I was going to post this “Ray”:

    https://wdtprs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/12_12_12_cardinal.jpg

    but then saw the very cute “Ray” that I posted, only to realise 5 minutes later that it was a Sabine Farm “Ray”!!

    Rayette? Seriously?! Anyway, nice to see Mr and Mrs Cardinal!

  7. wanda says:

    Sure enough, there is a pig on a bridge! Thanks, Fr. Z. I will have to keep an eye out for a tiny Porky to add to our Nativity set.

  8. excalibur says:

    Looks like a crown on the dove representing the Holy Spirit.

  9. wanda says:

    Great new close up of piggly-wiggly. Now a tiny monkey with cymbals is gonna be reeeeallly hard to find. Thanks, Fr. Z. Catholics are cool.

  10. Nicholas Shaler says:

    Perhaps the artist was poor at painting birds with outstretched wings.

    I am blown away (or baconed away?) by the bridge pig.

  11. AnAmericanMother says:

    I must say that Ralph is demonstrating beautiful form.

    Psycho Ruby water entry

    The little monkey, by the way, is accompanying a couple of itinerant musicians with what looks like a viol and a cittern. When he’s not playing the cymbals, he probably passes the hat.

  12. Norah says:

    What is the Steam Pipe Trunk Distribution Venue?

  13. Luvadoxi says:

    Yep–Psycho Ruby needs a little practice to perfect her form ;) I love these local attractions; we once waited to see a German Shepherd jump back and forth between two rocks over a ravine at the Wisconsin Dells. I was sad to see that Aquarena Springs, home of Ralph, is no longer an amusement park. It also had glass-bottom boats which was great fun for a kid….

    I don’t have a pig yet for my Nativity…but I do have a miniature dachshund!

  14. Sandy says:

    I’m glad Norah asked! I’m not the only one who doesn’t know what the Steam Pipe Trunk Distribution Venue means. Please explain, Father. Is this a permanent move? It’s awesome to see pics of the birds again!

  15. catholictrad says:

    The pig-on-a-bridge looks like the huge crèche at the cathedral of St John the Baptist in Savanna, GA where I was first exposed to the un-Modernized Mass on Christmas Day 2011. The Novus the night before was atrocious. Our Dear Saviour knew I needed worship rather than a Mass straight from the Partridge Family.

  16. Andkaras says:

    Um… Pigs weren’t really welcome in Jewish parts in those days.

  17. Kathleen10 says:

    The feeder pics are wonderful! You have a great camera. In my feeder shots the birds are so tiny they are just a bit of red. It is wonderful that the Mrs looks in on you! Animals, birds, are such an incredible joy.
    The monkey in the nativity reminds me of a painting we saw this past summer at the Boston Museum of Art. It was a huge painting, about eight by ten feet or so, and it was called, “Allegory of Man’s Choice”, done by a Flemish painter called Francken the Younger (so we don’t get him confused with Francken the Older) and we loved it. There was a monkey in that painting who represented the foolishness of the world’s powerful, I thought maybe that monkey was the same. It wasn’t, but I wonder if monkeys were often used as symbols of man’s foolishness.

  18. trad catholic mom says:

    yummm Culver’s. Enjoy the frozen custard Father.

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