The Birdwatch Project

So I've taken to feeding the birds. It started in March with one mucky old birdfeeder left by the previous inhabitants and as of 27-June has grown into a 4-arm stand with squirrel baffle, a suet feeder, a tray feeder of sunflower seed, a thistle sack, and that original mucky old birdfeeder. Also have a separate hummingbird feeder closer to the house.

We have a plethora of birds and it seems I discovered a new one each week until about a month ago. So far, I have confirmed that we have flickers, downy woodpeckers, towhees, cardinals, finches, sparrows, chickadees, titmouse, thrashers, catbirds, cowbirds, grackles (yippee), nuthatches, robins, the occasional bluejay, and goldfinches. Our newest visitor is a wren...can't tell if there's more than one.

Pretty much all of them like the tube feeder.
Suet - downy woodpecker, grackles (until I get a pellet rifle), wrens, thrashers
Sunflower - grackles (seriously, what won't they eat?), cardinals, finches, sparrows, wrens
Thistle - finches and goldfinches

The thistle sack is kind of annoying because one of us has to go out there about twice a day and twist it to keep the seed exposed or the birds either can't or won't eat from it. It's worth it when we get a goldfinch though because they're magnificent birds.

My suet cake is almost gone (it's peanut...a big hit with the woodpeckers). May try fruit next time (oranges or something) to see if I can get the catbird to come to the feeder and see what else it may attract. We're also thinking of replacing the sunflower seed in the tray feeder with worms or grubs in the fall to see if we can get a Bluebird. We've seen one around, but not in our yard. My only fear with using "live" feed is that our plentiful population of robins may devour it before the bluebird even thinks of coming to the yard. We'll see.

I do a pretty good job of keeping the hummingbird feeder clean and fresh. I had 1 hummingbird from May until about 2 weeks ago and haven't seen him/her since. Never got a good enough look to determine if it was male or female. One website I referenced noted that the females sometimes stop feeding at nectar sources in late June through July because they have hatchlings and spend all of their time catching insects to feed to their young. Don't know how accurate this is, but will keep the feeder up for him/her in case she/he comes back.

Future posts will include the relaying of how we got from one feeder in a tree to my current obsession/monstrosity in the backyard. "Squirrels are the secret servants of the dark master" (thanks, Bridge to Terabithia!)

Dale

Buried

We haven't been posting much...
Dale is buried with schoolwork and this week I'm buried in sermon prep.
But since I don't want this to get too static, I'm posting for Shadow. He is dictating this entry to me.
"So, today I had to take my medicine twice. Miaowuck! I played with the colored hard cold kitty and the soft furry mouse thingie, but it was so stimulating that eventually I stopped playing and started running around the house as though I were insane. (pause to wash paw). You do understand, of course, that I'm not insane. I just like pretending. Pipsqueak was annoyed with you when you stepped on him on the rug. Miaowouch! I'm planning a busy night of jumping onto the countertops and sneaking into your lap when you're reading. (pause to stretch) I'm done now. (walk away)."

The end of TV...

Well, apparently our cable box was a lifeline for our TV because tonight, after approximately 2 minutes of "John Q", the TV up and died. Of course, I suppose that it's possible that John Q is not a good movie and our TV was protesting, but really, I think we've probably watched worse...

The unexpected joys of travel

I'm on week 2 of my 2 week journey of the eastern half of these great United States (and territories, protectorates, junior assistant states, or whatever the PC term is these days).

Last week was a 3 day whirlwind tour to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Think all the heat of the American south with twice the humidity. I conducted a physical inventory at one of our manufacturers, then rewarded myself with a tour of the Bacardi rum factory. This is actually a little false advertising on the part of the great Bacardi company, because you see, you don't actually get to see the INSIDE of the factory, though you do get to ride past it. They give you a great presentation on how to make rum and the history of rum making. I'm pretty sure I'm now an expert, since they first told me how to make rum via a "tour" guide, then showed me how to make rum via a 15 minute video, then showed me how Bacardi makes rum via more videos, then showed me the outside of the factory. I hypothesize that they don't actually take you through the factory because they don't want you to see the large pile of dead rats, bats, or other vermin in the corner of the building. Of course they made up for this unforgivably horrible "tour" by giving everyone 2 free drinks at the end. So, all in all, I'd rate it at 12.5 on a scale of 10....easily the best tour ever. Who needs to actually see the inside of a factory during a factory tour anyway?

I nearly had a mid-air emergency on my flight back from San Juan. The flight left at 6:45am, I was on oxycodone for my wisdom teeth and I had eaten nothing before boarding the plane. The a/c wasn't working (so the plane was very stuffy) and the octogenerian lady sitting beside me was "emitting some odiferous eminations" from her nether regions that would put the burliest, grease-eating, beer-guzzling merchant marine to shame. Combine all of those factors, and I was reaching for the barf bag before 2 things (by the grace of God) saved me: 1. The a/c came on and 2. the beverage cart had arrived at my most desperate moment of need. This is proof that God loves me, but also has a somewhat twisted sense of humor.

I flew to Chicago today. Here until Thursday. Will update you with any news and notes later in the week.

Dale

Book Reviews

So "The Active Life" by Parker Palmer was very good, as to be expected. Mom gave that one to me and I really enjoyed it. It felt more like a discussion than a book about how to lead an active life that's not frantic.
"Leaving the Saints" by Martha Beck just blew my socks off! I read it twice in a row. It is a really beautiful account of the author going through hell as she put together her past with her present. She was raised a Mormon, and by the end of the book has left the Mormon faith for a faith that is authentically hers. Bonus is the light humor throughout what would otherwise be a gut-wrenching read. The topic of Mormonism lends a hand here, as she can freely talk about herding parrots, travelling Irishmen with mummies, and the special Mormon underwear. On a serious note, that book gave me some pause for thought about Mitt Romney, who is Mormon.
Now, I'm not saying that if Romney were elected, the Mormons would get hold of the government and everything would go crazy. But Beck does address the issue of polygamy quite a bit. While the official Mormon church does not advocate polygamy, they would return to it, according to Beck, the instant it became legal. I find this believable, since extremist Mormon groups currently practice polygamy today. And why would polygamy become legal? Well, if homosexuals were allowed to get married, then why would we say no to polygamists? Don't they also have a right to pursue happiness in marriage? And you know, I'm generally in favor of gay marriage. But I'm definitely not in favor of polygamy. So I'm thinking through the whole issue of marriage again, based on this book. Which really is only tangentially related to Mitt Romney, who may be a perfectly innocuous candidate.

First Weekend with No TV

So this was our first weekend without TV. We cancelled all our cable TV service this week. It's an experiment in time and money! And yes, we know we can get the broadcast networks, but so far we haven't even tried. I mean, what, I should want to watch "Age of Love"?
Let's see, no TV means we: bought and installed a hammock, bought and installed a fourth bird feeder, bought groceries for the next week and a half, cleaned the house, read books, did schoolwork, finally installed our surround sound speakers, attended a party, went to church, went to a concert, went for 2 bike rides, and watched an entire Seinfeld Netflix disc. (Well, you didn't really think we'd leave the TV completely OFF, did you?)
In wildlife news, we have a bunny joining the squirrels in foraging beneath the feeder. We especially like it when the squirrels startle him and he jumps backwards!
Dale's teeth are healing well. No more chipmunk cheeks! He's off to Chicago this week and then will hopefully be staying home for a while.

First Real Post!

Dale and I decided to start this blog as a way of recording some of the funny/weird things that happen to us and sharing them with our families. :) We're planning a series about our recent "Squirrel Wars," for example. We hope the site is entertaining for you all.
Dale gets back from Puerto Rico today! He's a travelling man, for sure, although not as much travelling at Dad. He has a really hard life: he had to fly to PR on Tuesday, spend the afternoon outside, stay at a resort hotel, tour the Bacardi Rum factory, spend 5 hours on meetings and inventory, then fly back today. In fact, as I type he's sitting in the Miami airport.
That's all the latest news for us!

Family blog

Just for the fun of it, really.