There are, according to my mother, 40,000 birds in my garage. That’s right. Forty thousand. Four, zero, comma, zero, zero, zero.

I have a nice house. But I’m not a Rockefeller. I don’t have a garage that would house 40,000 birds—not even tiny hummingbirds. And quite frankly, I don’t think 40,000 of anything would fit in my garage. Ladybugs? Maybe. They are pretty small. But I’d have to get the calculator out, rely on old-school calculus and geometry to estimate the size of their body, multiply it by 40,000 and divide it by the square footage of my garage. Alas, it’s the morning after Thanksgiving and my brain is still fully satisfied from yesterday’s meal, conversations, etc. etc. etc. So, why bother it with anything new? I’m just about as content as I possibly can be 😉

But. Thinking about birds and Thanksgiving pie made my mind recall the nursery rhyme “Sing a Song of Six Pence,” in which (if you recall) suggests there were “four and twenty birds baked in a pie.” So, only 24? I’m pretty sure that when I was very young, I thought the number was closer to 40,000. And I am pretty sure I also thought the whole concept gross. Yet, until now, I’d never known why they were being baked in a pie in the first place.

Alas … so I have now learned … there was an Italian cookbook from 1549 that had a recipe, or method, for how to make a pie with live birds inside so they’d fly out (shock and awe) when it was cut into. Yup. I mean can you imagine the horror in kitchens of years past when this was attempted? Part of me can’t help but laugh at the thought (sorry, bird-people, don’t DM me) … as for the “40,000” birds in my garage, there was, in fact one. One. One lone bird who flew in when the door was open and must have waited until my mother decided to go into the garage, to pounce. The bird, I am happy to report, has been released.

Feature image from “Sing a Song for Sixpence” (1880) ~ artist unknown. Cover image created with Canva Magic Studio.™

DISCLAIMER: I’m a writer and an editor. And I try my best to make sure every post is articulate and free from errors. However, being that I edit my own work—and it’s next to impossible to properly edit your own work—I admit, occasionally there may be an error or two I miss. But doing so doesn’t make me an idiot so don’t be mean. Just smile, pat yourself on the back for finding an error and be glad you’re not the only one who makes mistakes sometimes … xoxox