Making happy birds

Recipe:

Awake at 6 a.m.
Enjoy quiet time in the back yard, pulling weeds and listening to the birds sing.
Shower and eat breakfast.
Get lawnmower from garage. Spend 30 minutes trying to start; spend 10 minutes on porch letting flooded mower settle down. Listen to birds sing while waiting.
Get mower started; mow front yard.
Sweep and hose off cranky neighbor's driveway to avoid complaints later. Enjoy that summer smell of water on hot concrete.
Replace hose spray head with sprinkler; position so bare spots get water.
Pull Virginia creeper from side of house and bag up for trash. (Boy, this project will take several days. I hate Virginia Creeper!)
Note birds doing happy dance in small puddles. Also note dirt starting to creep onto cranky neighbor's drive again. Dang it!
Move sprinkler to the other bare spot on the opposite side of the yard, under Bradford pear tree.
Sweep cranky neighbor's drive again.
Move mower to back yard for late afternoon session.
Sit on front porch until sweat stops pouring down face. Listen to birds sing.
Walk around to back of house and go in kitchen door, with tile floor.
Kick off wet Keds.
Get very, very cold drink.
Glug. Glug.
Refill cold drink; store in fridge while fixing lunch.
Grab cold drink with lunch and head for computer for e-mail fix.
Stop at picture window in living room.
Observe many birds doing happy dance together in sprinkler and puddles. Count types of birds:
Sparrow
Robin
Female cardinal
Mocking bird
Pigeon
Grackle

Happy, happy birds. Happy, happy homeowner.

Maybe yardwork doesn't stink so much after all.