I entered the farmhouse and sprinted up the three entryway steps, calling out, “Hello…It’s me, Kathy!”

Mom answered, “I’m in the living room.”

My daughters, Niki and Tammie followed me as I crossed the hall and entered the living room. The young girls happily greeted their “Grammie” and settled down on the floor beside her rocking chair. Dropping down onto the sofa across from where Mom sat in her rocking chair, I inquired, “How are you doing today?”

Adjusting her lap Afghan, Mom admitted, “I’m okay, just saying prayers and listening to the birds.”

Macular degeneration had robbed my mother of her eyesight a few years earlier, so she was no longer able to crochet or read magazines. Cooking meals for herself and my two bachelor brothers who lived with her, was also a thing of the past. Mom would listen to birds feeding at the birdfeeders alongside the house as a happy pastime during the day when “her boys” were out of the house.

Tossing the small Afghan off her lap, Mom slid forward in her chair and pushed up to stand. She said, “It’s time for me to take my afternoon pills.” Nodding at Niki and Tammie, she added, “Billy made muffins the other day. You’ll like them.” Walking stiffly, Mom led the way through the dining room and into the kitchen.

My brother Billy walked into the house as we sampled his baking. Licking a crumb off my fingers, I teased, “Wow, that’s a good muffin! I should get your recipe. Who ever thought I’d exchange recipes with a brother!”

Casper, my oldest brother joined us in the kitchen then, too. He offered, “I have some strawberry wine you could sample.”

I eagerly responded, “I’d love that!”

Visiting family at the farm always involved sampling Casper’s latest prize-winning brew. In 1970, someone gave Casper a winemaking kit. He loved the experience and for the next 40 years made wine from scratch. He frequently entered his creations in contests and won many ribbons. We stepped into the patio room off the kitchen and sat down at the table there. My brother handed out wine glasses and poured pale pink wine into them. It was totally clear and smelled of ripe strawberries and sunshine. I enthused after a sip, “This one is a winner!”

Large windows on three sides of the room allowed a panoramic view of the backyard. I spotted a cardinal in a nearby birdfeeder. Mom took a remote control off the table and turned it on. Instantly, we heard the red bird’s thick beak pecking at the seeds, the call of an impatient chickadee who wanted a turn at the feeder, and the crowing of a neighbor’s rooster.

Smiling, I exclaimed, “I love how the baby monitor that Billy and Casper put in the birdfeeder picks up all the backyard sounds!”

Visiting Mom and my two brothers on the farm are now just happy, long-ago memories. I was reminded of that time in my life while flipping through the Internet this spring. I was shown advertisements for an Artificial Intelligence-powered smart camera installed in a bird feeder. It was called a Bird Buddy which notifies you of bird visitors, captures photos and videos of them and allows users to share these with a network of bird-loving Bird Buddy owners. Motion activated; the Bird Buddy takes closeup pictures and videos of birds who come to eat. The images are sent to the user’s cell phone and can identify birds, even the rare ones. The pictures and videos that the Bird Buddy takes can then be posted on social media to share with friends. Jumping to my feet, I exclaimed, “I have to buy this!” I knew this would be an enjoyable, new way for my sister to watch and listen to birds at her bird feeder.

I messaged my daughter, “I found a Christmas present for my sister Agnes. I’m sending a link so you can see it. Would you and Niki want to go together with me to get it for her?”

When the bird feeder camera finally arrived, we decided not to wait until Christmas to give it to my sister. Tammie said, “This is a new technology, and we need to make sure it works.”

I enthusiastically supported her, “Yes, let’s give it to Agnes now, before it gets cold, and our summer birds fly south for the winter!”

The other day I was thinking about how clever my brothers were to have wired their birdfeeder and equipped it with a baby sound monitor. It was good entertainment for everyone, not just Mom.

Remembering the many times I spent sitting in the farmhouse patio room drinking Casper’s wine and listening to the backyard birds squabbling over their seed rights made me feel nostalgic. I missed those wonderful times with my family. Shaking off the wistful feeling, I called my daughter to ask, “How would you like to go with me to visit my sister? Maybe we can enjoy her Bird Buddy while drinking some wine. I have a bottle in the pantry that we could share.”

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