Background: when I moved up here (4 years ago now?) I realized that I would have to have a visual diversion or I would go crazy. We live in a row house with no side windows and in the back the cedar trees were touching the deck (read: claustrophobia, so a couple had to go) and the front is a gravel parking lot ... not quite as bad as it sounds but definitely lacking in panorama views! So, I got some bird feeders and they have proved to be a great success as far as diversion goes.
Himself and I have had a difficult time concentrating on our tasks this morning ... there's been a lot going on!
The usual suspects arrived. Chickadees (and finches):
Juncos:
Bluejays:
Assorted Woodpeckers hanging off the suet:
And, glory be, the Cardinal! We've gone to great lengths to encourage this skitty guy. The new bird feeder has a special ring on it for him, black sunflower seeds are all over the place, and recently we got safflower seeds - Bingo! He's a key player now, although we do wonder where the Mrs is; in the past she was sent in to do the reconnaissance, but no sign of her this year.
Here he is with a safflower seed in his beak:
Then the thieves arrived in full force. First they tried to get into the feed box (it is stored outside since the 'pantry moth' infestation - don't ask - it was bad ... whole other entry). They were too fast for me to get the pics of them at the strap lock, and they certainly tried their best (note: the black squirrel chews at the plastic which I then stuff with steel wool - geez):
This one begged to come in ... NOT!
And then the show really began; it was all over in seconds. The red squirrel first tried to climb the metal bird feeder hanger and slid s l o w l y down. So, he leapt up and ...
Now, I must get back to my task at hand ...
No comments:
Post a Comment