Tuesday, January 29, 2008

My Birds and the Thief!

I am generally a fan of small furry animals, but this week I recognized some of them as true rodents!


I enjoy watching squirrels all year long:



  • Teasing my dog with their chatter safe from the tree branches.
  • Munching on sunflower seeds sprinkled on the ground.
  • Watching as they tip-toe across the telephone lines.
  • I will even screech my brakes and swerve to miss their bushy little tails as they scurry across the road.

Today was not one of those days.


I finally bought myself a really nice bird feeder, right before the snow fell. I placed it carefully in an apricot tree where I could sit comfortably in my living room to watch my little birds enjoy their treats. I selected the bird feeder with great care. I hung the bird feeder with great care. I made a HUGE mess filling the bird feeder with great care. I watched and waited (without much patience) for my little birds to come. They did not. They hadn't found their feeder yet. Maybe tomorrow morning they would find their treats.


Night comes and goes and I practically skip down the stairs to peek out at my bird feeder. What I saw did not please me. Overnight one or more bushy tailed thieves struck my new bird feeder. It was empty. My poor little birds had come. They were picking at what they could off the ground...little remnants of what the rodents had carelessly spilled!


I carefully removed my bird feeder from the apricot tree. I carefully (again with a huge mess) refilled the bird feeder. I carefully climbed a ladder, even standing on that top step that you are NEVER supposed to stand on. I carefully hung my bird feeder from my evergreen tree outside my kitchen window. I also planned for my little thieves this time. I carefully plucked any branches that would allow my bushy tailed friends to get close to the bird feed. I also used zip ties in a chain fashion to hang the feeder out of their reach! Success! Unfortunately there isn't a cozy seat for me to sit at to watch my birds. If I want to spend quality time with my birds...I have to sit IN the kitchen sink. Can you imagine that sight? Well, it has me keeping dishes out of the sink. I need a place to put my feet.


I have since enjoyed watching my sweet snow birds, finches, doves and ugly spotted birds enjoy the bird seed. I have also enjoyed watching my bushy tailed friends try to sneak up on the feeder. One almost slid down the snow covered branches to the ground below.


A penny thought: (From my one of my favorite shows Sex in the City)

You can't be friends with a squirrel! A squirrel is just a rat with a cuter outfit. -Sarah Jessica Parker

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I never knew you were a bird lover. I guess Grace should have gotten you the ceramic bird Christmas of '06. I'm sure Marc will share. You know squirrels need to eat too!!!

Ronda said...

The kitchen sink...so useful for so many things! I love it!

Lindsay said...

:) Smiling at your cleverness!!

Love your header/banner too :)

Stacy B said...

We don't have a spot to watch the birds anymore. I miss that. So funny about the squirrels. Reminds me of Caddyshack......