“The cold cut like a many bladed knife”
The rain is gone and so too is my sloth day. Today I have to do all those errands I’ve been putting off including the dump. I couldn’t go there in the rain, but now I have to weather the Siberian steppes for that’s what the dump feels like when the day is cold and the wind is blowing, a day like today. I have no choice though. My trunk is filled with cardboard, papers, bottles and trash. Gracie will be thrilled. I will freeze.
The birds are especially active today. All sorts are flying in and out of the feeders. I saw a flicker at the new suet feeder which is meant for larger birds with long tails, and the flicker looked comfortable. The small birds seem to enjoy the suet feeder where they eat upside down. I saw a wren or at least a relative of the wren this morning at the sunflower seeds. By the looks of the crowds, I’ll have to refill a couple of the feeders later today. I’ll also have to look for my bird bath heater in the cellar.
My friends gave me a new feeder and peanuts for that feeder. I have been hesitant to use it, though, as I fear it will attract every spawn of Satan for miles around, but I’ve come up with a solution. I’ll put the new feeder with the peanuts on the feeder pole below the deck. The pole has a spawn baffle so they can’t climb up, and it is nowhere near a branch from which they can drop down. Spawns of Satan 0-me 1.
The sunlight is winter sharp and the wind is blowing. The creaky top branches of the scrub pine and oak are bending. One pine tree looks so unsteady all the way down its trunk that the whole tree seems to sway. Already the backyard has fallen branches from pines, victims of the wind from the other night. The brown leaves still clinging to the oak seem impervious to the wind. They sway but never fall.
When my mother was dressing me to go out and play and before I was old enough to remember to hold the cuffs of my shirts, my mother used to have to reach up my sleeves and pull down the cuffs so the sleeves would unscrunch, all because she was a believer in layering. First came the long sleeve shirt then the sweater then the winter coat. On my feet were two pairs of socks then my shoes then my mother straining to get the boots over the shoes. I remember thinking it was fun to walk with the boots half on. I don’t think my mother was too amused.
I think today is a day for bundling, for wearing layers to keep the cold at bay. No boots though.
Explore posts in the same categories: UncategorizedTags: Bird, Bird feeder, Bird food, bundling up, cold, dump, layering, spawns of Satan, Sunflower seed, Wind
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December 28, 2012 at 11:55 am
This morning has started out with a cold damp fog. What little snow that remains on lawns and roofs is slowly sublimating. The low clouds has prevented the temperatures from falling to a hard freeze during the night. It’s the kind of day that makes me want to stay in bed.
On a workday I always get the garbage out to the cans for the Friday pickup on my way out the door. When I am not working I sometimes over sleep and miss the arrival of the truck and my garbage gets to sit in the large gray rubberized container in the ally for another week. Today I filled the container within five minutes of the truck arriving. We actually have two containers. One can is for recyclables and one for regular garbage. Even the non recyclable garbage isn’t too bad because we have a disposer in the kitchen sink. I am amazed that the recyclable container is always more full than the garbage container. The rubberized containers are designed to be lifted by a hoist on the truck so that one man can collect garbage while driving the truck. Another example of how technology has eliminated non skilled jobs. When they went to this system the city also went to one day a week collection and raised the rate for collection.
Why do you feed the birds? Why not just let them fly south for the winter as nature intended.
December 28, 2012 at 1:30 pm
Bob,
I know that wanting to stay in bed feeling! I had it yesterday. Today, though, I have been far more accomplished.
Nature did not intend for all birds to fly south. If that were the case, no seeds would keep them here. The ones at my feeders are year-round residents of Massachusetts. They include the chickadee, the tufted tit-mouse, the nuthatch, blue Jay, fox sparrow, woodpecker and so many more. My seeds give them nourishment, especially when it snows.
We do not have garbage pick-up service unless we pay a private company. Most of us go to the dump where I have to separate all my recyclables into separate bins. I have a couple of trash bags, newspapers and magazines, cans, bottles and cardboard. It takes a while going from bin to bin.
December 28, 2012 at 2:23 pm
I didn’t know about the birds in Massachusetts. If people in New York City would stop feeding the pidgins they would leave the city. Instead these dirty, disease infested pests stay.
Although the city picks up my garbage, I pay for the service monthly. I am not sure that privatization might be cheaper.
December 28, 2012 at 4:41 pm
Bob,
I have to buy a dump sticker each year. The town has no service at all.
December 28, 2012 at 12:09 pm
cooked Tacos last night and thought I might share a quick & easy breakfast treat.
Morpfys Mex-Fast
3 Large eggs
Bacon
2 Soft Corn Tortillas (not Flour or PRE cooked ones) 6 inch. Diameter
Chorizo (Mexican spicy sausage) OPTIONAL
PREPARATION:
Scramble 3 Lg. eggs in a bowl.
Cut up 2 corn tortillas. About ½ inch squares
COOKING:
In a fry pan cook the bacon to your preference, saving the grease in the pan.
Then after cooking the bacon, throw in the tortillas chips & small amount of
Of Chorizo (optional) . Cook till tortilla chips are somewhat firm not hard.
Drain any grease from pan, and then add scrambled egg mix.
Stir combination till eggs are done
Serve on a plate. Salt & pepper to preference.
(If chorizo was added, this is salty & spicy already)
SERVES ONE. Double recipe for two
December 28, 2012 at 1:32 pm
Thanks, Morpfy
As always I have saved it for my recipe file. I love Mexican food!
December 28, 2012 at 12:20 pm
A “bird bath heater” exists???
Is an automatic feather dryer also invented?
The endless rain is quite warm over here. No shivering birds, dogs or people. And the European Red squirrel is cute and harmless 🙂
December 28, 2012 at 1:35 pm
Birgit,
I have two heaters: one is on all the time while the other comes on when the temp. hits freezing. The birds need water in winter, and this provides them with some which doesn’t freeze.
The red squirrel here is a beast. I have seen it attack the gray squirrels which are so much bigger and one tried to attack me when I was trying to save it. The spawn had its foot caught inside a bird feeder, and I was trying to get it loose.
If they eat all my bird seen, they aren’t so harmless. I swear my yard has the fattest of all spawns.
December 28, 2012 at 12:58 pm
Our squirrels are much shyer than Yours seems to be. The ones in the forest won’t even come close to our cottages.
We’ve had a beautiful day here with sunshine the entire time but now clouds are covering the sky again, tomorrow will be warmer and it might start raining too. I wouldn’t mind if all the snow and ice melted away, it could be cold after that again I wouldn’t mind.
Nothing on tv tonight so I think I’ll watch a dvd, but what kind. sci-fi perhaps, after all I did look up into the sky all night yesterday 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
December 28, 2012 at 1:37 pm
Christer,
Ours are brazen. They will sit inside the feeders and eat all the bird seed.
Today is 37˚. I swear the dump was around 20˚ with the wind blowing so hard. It is supposed to snow in Boston tomorrow while we’ll get a ix of snow and rain. The ocean is still warm enough to keep the snow away!
I noticed there was nothing on, hasn’t been anything all week. I’ll watch a movie I suppose.