Uneducated Yanqui Birds

I have a (at least to my wife) weird habit of feeding the birds (must a May Poppins hangover). I like to fill a bird feeder and watch the different wild birds patronize it. I usually put it where it can be seen while I eat. Buddy and I team up to disabuse the local squirrels from assigning themselves to the avian phyla. That partnership has a spotty history. We have a couple of very large hawks patrolling our hilltop which is more effective in keeping the squirrels at bay than the Wonder Pooch. Unfortunately they take breaks or are eating one of the furry pests so there are times when Buddy goes ballistic and throws himself at the door to get to the bird feeder and I know one of his grey clad friends is outside at the feeder.

Meanwhile - Out in California

I say all this because this past weekend my wife took up the calling. She tried a technique they use down in Panama when she spread slices of papaya out on the deck. She proudly claimed this would attract hordes of birds. After twenty four hours and not a single bird sampling the offered fruit she was a little upset with our local fowl, claiming they were completely uneducated. Even the squirrels didn’t seem to be interested and I thought they ate anything (I probably shouldn’t have mentioned that to her). She took the whole thing as a personal affront. She’s holding out hope the birds that flew south for the winter and appreciate a good papaya layout will arrive and rescue her tarnished reputation for bird husbandry.

My Wife's Under-appreciated Papaya Slices

Yesterday was our first day in a while back at home for the entire day and since the Maine Musquetera is arriving tonight, for their NYC thunder run tomorrow, a lot of time was spent on house cleanliness. The magic of the roses proffered upon her return are waning because I received a series of lectures yesterday on my failure to maintain certain levels of cleanliness during her absence. She’s also full into planning mode for our move across the street in a couple months. The flower beds there are in for a huge surprise when she arrives, they’ll never know what hit them.