Wow - Monday here in the true midwest - will be 80 again today with lots of sun. Everything happy, happy!
Was sitting here by puter watching out back window. The Observer (our resident rabbit) was there with blue jays, blackbirds, sparrows, cardinals and turtle doves. Still Happy Happy.
Then a juvenile sparrow got too close to a male blackbird and he attacked it! Covered it with his wings to protect it from mom and dad who were attacking the blackbird, pulled out a few feathers and then flew off with the body! Not so happy, happy!
I am two stories up and didn't think I should interfere with nature, so just watched in horror.
Now all you birders out there - do blackbirds normally eat other small birds? I could do research here in my busy work day, but thought some of you might have some first-hand knowledge on this.
I thought tv was violent! Going to go look in my closet for awhile - nothing violent in there!
Mook
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
Mookie, I have never been an avid bird watcher, and I don't know about black birds in particular, but I do know that blue jays will often raid the nests of other birds and either eat the eggs or the babies.
When I was a youngster my Dad's mother lived on a farm just across the Minnesota state line, and my grandparents had blue jays that would raid the nests of robins in their back yard. My grandmother got tired of seeing this sort of thing happen and so she went out and she bought my grandfather a bolt-action 10 gauge shotgun. I don't know if my grandfather ever actually used the gun itself, but my grandmother was adept at blowing blue jays out of the trees with it. My grandmother was not very tall, and you can picture this scrawny little woman handling a shotgun, sort of like Granny of the Beverly Hillbillies!!
Ray
Mookie, don't believe I have ever witnessed anything like that, myself. And growing up on the farm, had plenty of all of the afore-mentioned birds plus other birds around.
Ray, if you do decide to "bike all the way down here", best not to be on any of the interstates. You'd have to take back roads all the way, and wonder how long that would take you!
Today's afternoon & evening meals consist of:
1. leftover roast, taters, carrots, etc., from yesterday and. . .
2. meat loaf, mashed taters w/gravy, shellie beans, corn, cornbread, and your choice of garden salad or cole slaw.
Desserts today: chocolate cake, chocolate pie, apple pie, coconut cream pie and blueberry cobbler.
Paula, thanks for dinner. It sure hit the spot.
Tom
COAST LINE FOREVER
It is better to dwell in the corner of a roof than to share a house with a contentious woman! (Solomon)
A contentious woman is like a constant dripping! (Solomon)
I never turn down roast beef.
Still not fully awake. One of the downsides of getting older - recovering from a lack of sleep takes longer and longer.
The news is now reporting that the two young men who were killed in the incident may have been returning from a "house party" and that there may have been alcohol involved in the crash. Considering that they were 17 and 20, somebody is gonna fry...
I've taken a few longer bike rides, but 750 miles is a bit more than I'd want to take on any more. Might make an interesting adventure, nonetheless. Get one of those trailers to carry a tent, grill, and other necessities, camp wherever you can find a hospitable spot (maybe alongside railroad ROWs?).
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
....Those who care to bike...come to Muncie as we have a great Trail that's over 30 miles in length now and more being added. It's ex C&O ROW. It's smoothly paved too. Bike in safety.
Jen:
Those black birds are overbearing creatures. One can see a robin find a worm and if any black bird is anywhere close enough, it will swoop in and grab it away from the robin and fly away with it.
Quentin
BossHen has watched sparrows disappear outside courtesy of a local falcon (poof! - nothing but feathers)...and foxy started culling the absurd number of local rabbits.
Now that there are 2 cairn terriers (toto dogs) next door and another scottie (Chester) 5 doors down, vermin are going to have to move on. Foxy, racoon or the squirrels wander down the fenceline and all h*ll breaks loose.
Q: Bosshen looking for the hummingbird feeder recipe. Time to put the feeder to work.
Going to find the bluejuice - still dehydrated after thatching the yard this weekend and walking into an 84 degree office (chiller failure).
Q - I knew they take food away from robins, but never realized they would attack small prey. Wow....
Saw a gentle turtledove (coo coo) peck at another bird when it got in it's way. Guess it isn't only dog-eat-dog world that applies - birds too!
But on the other hand - moo and oink are in my vocabulary, so can't begrudge them getting food in any form.
Still - it was such a beautiful morning.....
J
tree68 wrote:I've taken a few longer bike rides, but 750 miles is a bit more than I'd want to take on any more. Might make an interesting adventure, nonetheless. Get one of those trailers to carry a tent, grill, and other necessities, camp wherever you can find a hospitable spot (maybe alongside railroad ROWs?).
I've done 85 miles in 5 hours a couple of times so if I break that into...2 segments per day of say...4 hours at ~17 MPH but I'll allow for hills and delays so let's say 14 MPH as an average speed. I'd make about 112 miles/day. At that pace it'd take me a week to get there!
Jen I was hunting once and was watching a cardinal in a pine. Cardinal's are my favorite bird and, for some reason, not too common in the area I hunt. I saw some grackles go after a male and female and let's say that...some grackles are no longer around.
Dan
Here's an animal-dietary-choice that I witnessed that had me shocked- a few months back I was working in our back yard when I heard a commotion coming from the side of the house. I walked around to find a bunch of sparrows flitting around frantically near some junk that I had piled against the side of the garage. As I approached, they made themselves scarce; I looked down into the junk pile and spotted a CHIPMUNK carrying a dead baby sparrow.
I didn't know that chipmunks had a streak of carnivore in them...
Brian (IA) http://blhanel.rrpicturearchives.net.
Peeps don't come in chocolate, Dan.....
But the brownies sound really good.....
afternoon
I've noticed at the bird feeder a downy woodpecker take out a blue jay.Must be the red top.Time to get matt off the bus.Cw thanks for the roast and taters for supper.
stay safe
Joe
Deshler Ohio-crossroads of the B&O Matt eats your fries.YUM! Clinton st viaduct undefeated against too tall trucks!!!(voted to be called the "Clinton St. can opener").
Mookie wrote: Peeps don't come in chocolate, Dan.....But the brownies sound really good.....
M C:
Humming bird feeder formula: 4 parts of water....1 part of sugar
....Always thought Doves were more on the gentle side. In fact, I've wondered when they feed as they are most always seen sitting on the utility wires doing not much of anything. I tried to mock them with their co...co....co....warbling with a whistle I can do with folding my hands and blowing, etc.....They pay no attention whatsoever. Thought maybe I could speek Dove to them but my accent must be off.
....Cardinals are pretty birds...especially the male being the bright red one. We really have a generous supply of them too in our back yard....some year around.
It will be a long time before I ever seriously think about biking my way from Sioux Falls, South Dakota to Louisville, Kentucky, and I mean a very LONG time! The thought of participating in a cross-country trip of perhaps only a couple hundred miles with other bikers does appeal to me, and there are cycle clubs that do this sort of thing. Even if I were to bike my way to Louisville, it would involve a lot of very careful planning and research in mapping out the route that I would follow. I am not into camping of any sort, although I could do it, but I wonder how long I can go without some of the basic necessities of life. In other words, I don't think I could go very long without having a good, hot shower.
In the Black Hills of South Dakota we have what we call the George S. Mickelson Trail, and it follows the old Burlington Route's grade from Edgemont, in the southern end of the Black Hills to Deadwood, which is in the northern Black Hills. Between these two points you would cover a total of 109 miles. Now I think THAT would be a fun trek.
Ray ooo ooo ooOOOOOo
OREO Cookies from Chicago? - no thanks, let Mookie's birdies have at 'em.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/ODD_COOKIE_SPILL?SITE=OHCIN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-05-19-09-00-54
mudchicken wrote: OREO Cookies from Chicago? - no thanks, let Mookie's birdies have at 'em.http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/ODD_COOKIE_SPILL?SITE=OHCIN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-05-19-09-00-54
Reminds me of an accident here some years ago. It involved a fresh fruit distributor's truck which crashed in the median of the Interstate. Unlike urban Interstates, we have places where you can't even see the other lanes, so there's plenty of room for something like that in the median without disrupting the opposite lanes.
Anyhow, a lot of fruit was spilled, but DOT figured it was organic and wouldn't hurt anything if they just left it to return to nature on its own.
They forgot about the critters.
So many car-animal collisions occured as the result of said animals crossing the Interstate to get to all that yummy fruit that DOT was forced to go back and clean it all up.
cherokee woman wrote: 2. meat loaf, mashed taters w/gravy, shellie beans, corn, cornbread, and your choice of garden salad or cole slaw.
I'll take that for dinner!
By the way, I resolved a major problem with my house's central air conditioning last weekend. It had a habit of NOT shutting down when the house cooled down to the right temperature with the furnace running but not blowing air. I fixed the problem by turning off the electrostatic air filter system, which probably was interfering with the digital thermostat we're using. The A/C repairman ordered a new thermostat that will work correctly with the electrostatic air filter, but it won't arrive until next week.
Quentin; ~~~ are you ready for the oil boom in Selma?? Just when one thinks all is well in the domain , rt. 32 will be a over loaded road. Have the ( boomers ) hit Muncie yet ?? I wish the driller good fortune and peace of mind.~~~~ Whood a thunhit. Oil a weapon of mass destruction and frustration. I hear a train a commin' , read you later .
Respectfully , Cannonball
Y6bs evergreen in my mind
Good Tuesday morning, everyone. Cannonball, good to see you dropped by last night. It's always good to see you. How're you and Shirl doing? Hope all is well for you all.
Coffee, juices and hot water for cider and tea are ready. On the breakfast bar: turkey bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, pancakes w/syrup, beagles & bear claws, homemade buttermilk biscuits w/sausage gravy, and fresh sliced pineapple.
Since today is primary election day here, wonder how busy I'll be at Tuesday Produce this morning. We'll be going to do our duty sometime after I get through with Produce.
I got my stool, and getting Mookie's coffee mug down (actually, I have to get the stool to get all the mugs down), so I'm ready to pour coffee, as soon as she gets in. Let's see, guess I'd better watch, and see how many coffee cups I need to get down off the shelf.
......Cannonball:
Now that's a new one on me....Oil in Selma....!! Any news of that must have been on Muncie's web page of the StarPress....Didn't see any word of it in the actual paper. Nor on any of the Indy TV stations.
Don't see why it wouldn't pay with the retail of gasoline being where it is now...{Our high so far last week...$3.96}, and I'm sure looking for them to slide it up to the good 'ole 4 dollar mark before the Holiday. And of course oil being $127 a bbl. now.
We plan to hit the road Saturday to head east to the home land...Perhaps with all your time on the road you even know where our hotel is...Hampton Inn, Somerset, Pa., at the Pennsy Turnpike exit. Always stay there visiting "home".
I'll put my ears up on the mentioned "oil deal" and see what's happening. We'll let you know of any local news about it....
And our start in the diner: Our start here this morning is 50.2 degrees and nice and bright in the eastern sky so looks like a sunshine start {at least}, for the day.
Hope it stays dry at least part of the day as today must be mowing day.
morning
cool start but sunshine maybe later today??oreo cookies?? wheres the milk truck?? speaking of trucks the gatorade truck just rolled in for you MC. going to get a nap then matt and I might venture to town.Cw thanks for breakfast.Can you save some strawberries??
I'm draggin' in CW - will take that cup of coffee. Got up at 5 with driver to send him off to work and then did piddle work around the hut. Cool this morning - 70's today - nice day in store. Must find something to occupy my time!
Mook....
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