Monday, February 16, 2009, 21:48
More Plastic Bags
I had to tie more plastic bags onto the bird feeder this afternoon. Not the east side yard bird feeder to which I had tied plastic bags a few weeks ago. This time I tied bags onto the bird feeder on the north side of the house.
It is SO attractive to have white plastic bags fluttering from the bird feeders. Oh, well. If it saves the birds from Gabriel, it is well worth it -- because our gray tom Gabriel struck again.
I had just walked into the kitchen Monday afternoon when I saw Gabriel leap up into the bird feeder and grab the only bird eating seed.
In two leaps, I made it to the door, yanked it open, and raced out onto the porch, yelling at the top of my lungs.
Gabriel streaked across the frozen lawn, and half way to the lilacs, dropped the bird.
With a sinking heart, I watched as the bird just laid there, its feathers fluttering in the strong, cold wind out of the south.
I walked over to the bird and gently nudged it with my toe. It was a goldfinch. And it was quite dead.
I picked up the bird and took it in the house with me. I did not want Gabriel to come back, find the bird and get a reward for leaping up into the feeder.
Then I cut the handles on more plastic bags and went outside and tied them onto the bird feeder. It was a little bit tricky because it was so windy Monday afternoon, but I finally got them tied.
So far, the plastic bags seem to have worked quite well on the bird feeder on the east side of the house. Many times I have observed Gabriel walking up to the feeder, crouching below and sizing up the birds. But with the plastic bags fluttering in the breeze, he has decided against trying to jump up to grab the birds. The other time I saw him do this, just before I tied on the plastic bags, he had snatched a Slate Colored Junco out of the feeder. When I yelled and stomped my feet, he dropped the bird -- which seized the opportunity to fly away into a tree where it was safe.
This time, the Goldfinch was not so lucky. I SHOULD have tied bags onto the north feeder at the time that I tied bags onto the east feeder. But at that point, I had never seen Gabriel jump up into the north feeder.
When Randy came home and saw that I had tied plastic bags onto the bird feeder the first time around, he was worried that the fluttering bags would bother the birds and keep them away from the feeder. I said I didn't think it would make any difference, seeing as Chickadees had been in the feeder right above my head WHILE I WAS TYING ON THE PLASTIC BAGS. The birds never missed a beat and continued flying back and forth into the feeder for bird seed. So, it would appear that if the plastic bags are positioned so that they do not they flutter up above the platform bird feeder, the birds are not at all bothered.
The bird feeders in our yard are both higher than my head, and I am five feet, six inches tall. When I put out bird seed, I have to reach way above my head to do it. And since I cannot see into the feeders, I have to reach up with my hand and feel around to see how much seed is in the feeders.
With any luck at all, the plastic bags on the north bird feeder will keep Gabriel out, too. It is amazing to me that he can leap straight up six feet into the air and grab a bird that he can't really see from the ground directly underneath the feeder.
Years ago, we raised the bird feeders to their present height to keep the cats from jumping into the feeders. And it worked spectacularly well. We also moved the feeders out away from the trees so the cats did not have cover to hide in. And I stopped putting out bird seed in the cedar tree in front of the house. The kitties always liked to sit in the living room window and watch the birds in the cedar tree, but too many birds were falling victim. There was too much cover for the outside cats around the cedar tree. All three strategies worked extremely well. I rarely found feathers around the yard after that.
Many people object to cats because they sometimes kill song birds. From what I've read, cars on the road kill many more song birds each year than cats. But I don't see anyone suggesting that we ought to stop driving so much to spare the song birds.
Wind farms for wind energy also are very hazardous to song birds. And so are airplanes. Although to be fair, the birds can be hazardous to the airplanes, too.
But, as I said, with any luck at all, the plastic bags will keep Gabriel from leaping into the north bird feeder. And who knows, maybe plastic bags will catch on as yard decoration for other people. But if it doesn't, so what? At least the birds in my yard will be safe.
LeAnn R. Ralph
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Saturday, February 14, 2009, 07:12
Accident Prone
Poor Henry.
There I was Thursday morning, in the bathroom, taking an antihistamine, when Henry jumped up on the counter and bumped my elbow.
I promptly dropped the glass in the sink -- and it shattered into a thousand pieces.
"Henry!" I said.
My gray tom, who turned one year old in October and is a very long, very large, but somewhat thin cat, took one look at me, jumped off the counter and headed for the door.
He stood there meowing pitifully, as if the devil himself were after him.
I let him out and shut the door again. Then I went about picking up the pieces of glass out of the sink. When I had picked up the big pieces, I took a Kleenex (Puffs Plus to be exact) and wiped up the shards. Then I rinsed out the sink.
When I was reasonably sure that all of the glass was gone, I went out to look for Henry.
I couldn't find him anywhere. And he wasn't coming to me when I called, either.
I went outside with Pixie. When we came back inside and I had given Pixie her breakfast, I went back to looking for Henry.
I finally found him. He was huddled up against the ottoman in the living room, looking miserable and sorry for himself.
"Henry," I said.
I picked him up.
"Are you scared? It's okay. You didn't mean to bump my elbow."
Henry, sensing that he was not in trouble, began to look more cheerful and snuggled up on my shoulder.
Last spring when Henry knocked my green antique claw-footed bowl off the top of the microwave it made an explosive sound as it shattered on the floor. Henry was so frightened that he ran for the basement door and wanted to go downstairs in the worst way. He stayed down there all day and didn't ask to come upstairs once. He stayed down there until I coaxed him into coming upstairs.
I suppose the sound of the glass shattering in the sink reminded Henry of the green bowl shattering on the floor.
I have lost count of the number of bowls, glasses, lamps and picture frames that Henry has broken. He's just that kind of cat, I guess.(sigh) But he is a very sweet cat, too. It's just that he has an impish outlook on life. . .
Blustery
It has been very windy here at Rural Route 2 the last few days. Windy. Cloudy. A little snowy. But much, much, much warmer than it has been. The temperature has been in the 30s or close to 30. Windy, cloudy and wet is a welcome change from below zero.
Outside, it actually looks like the end of March, not the middle of February. We've still got six weeks to go before we hit the end of March. And a lot could happen between now and then. Or not. It could stay dry and then decide it wants to snow in April -- at the time we want the sun to shine and the buds to come out on the trees.
That's one thing about the weather around here. It always keeps me guessing.
LeAnn R. Ralph