So, why birds?

I get asked that sometimes and it's an interesting question. Why anything? Why do some people love cars, or sports, or books, or cooking? Why does someone pick mint chocolate chip over butter pecan? What makes us like our favorite colors? Is it nurture? Is it nature? 

I actually remember the first time I noticed a bird, believe it or not. I was still in a stroller, sitting on the edge of a strawberry field. My mom pointed out a robin and I remember watching it hop down the path. The cuteness, the singing, the flight--the whole package--I just fell in love. 

My great grandfather, Harry Hamilton, was a rather successful Outer Banks decoy carver. He's even in a couple books. So is it my dna to want to create bird related art? Maybe. Or was it was nurture? All through my childhood I watched the osprey build nests and songbirds on the feeders. There were always field guides and binoculars laying around. By 2nd grade my school memories book records me proudly proclaiming I wanted to be an ornithologist when I grew up. 

So, why birds? I think, for me, that feeling I had when I first noticed the robin in the strawberry field never wore off and for some reason I still find them just as fascinating. To me, they're the most beautiful creatures alive and they bring me joy.