The word labor, of course, means work.   Coming up with a bird for this holiday took a bit of thinking, but it ended up seeming quite obvious once the bird came to mind.  Have you ever been startled from your sleep by a bunch of hammering and blamed your husband, or father, or neighbor for disturbing your peace – only to discover that none of these people are responsible?  If you’re lucky, you may have just been among the privileged few who have heard an actual Woodpecker working hard at finding his breakfast.   Can you see why I have chosen this distinguished bird to represent such an auspicious holiday?  It couldn’t be helped, really.

The Distinguished Woodpecker

This particular woodpecker is a member of the Pileated Woodpecker family.  He looks a bit shell-shocked at the moment, but when you consider what he does for a living, you can’t really blame him.

Pileated Woodpecker

This stunning creature (or should I say ‘stunned’?) is made of polymer clay, and is 2 and 1/8 inches long, and 1 and 3/16 inches tall.  He’s quite ready for a day off, although his food storage plan leaves much to be desired, so he might have to work the holiday.  Poor guy!  Sometimes life is just unfair.

Woodpecker heading off to work