We are the only house on this road that can lay claim to a 500 pound sparrow and a 300 pound hummingbird. We fed our feathered friends quite well. I figure by the end of the summer the Mourning Doves will be the size of a Macys Thanksgiving day parade blimp. Forget any bird that is planning on flying south for the winter . . . It won't be able to get off the ground.
Perhaps I have exaggerated just a bit but I can tell you that we do indeed have the best fed birds in all of the UP. The Man sends me into the farm supply store, (talk about being out of your comfort zone), and tells me just what kind of bird seed he wants. It can have sunflower seeds in it but it can NOT have "those little round things that the birds spit out all over the patio". Picture me telling this to the guy who is already rolling his eyes at this dopey woman. The ridiculous thing is that it does not matter what kind of bird food I purchase because it will not be what The Man wanted. . . But do I care ??? The stupid birds would eat bologna and cheese sandwiches if I put them in the feeders. And if they spit anything out onto the patio there will be a bunch of birds down there picking up the droppings.
The birds and other wild life entertain us for hours. The kitchen has a large sliding glass door facing the back of the house. From here we see the barn and milk house. Further back in the field behind the barn is the pond and beyond that more fields and woods. All this is home to any number of creatures. But the birds are the stars of the show. They even take precedence over Fox News !!!!!
The sliding glass door in the kitchen leads out to a set of 5 cement steps that go down a small cement patio. Along the edge of this patio we have 2 hanging bird feeders, a suet holder and a hummingbird feeder. There is an endless flow of birds at each of these feeders. The Man sits on his throne at the kitchen table and watches the creatures for hours each day. Now that the weather is warming up he will be outside a lot more but the birds will still be around.
The reason I am mentioning all this is because this morning we had a battle of the birds out by the pond. We have two families of geese residing near the pond. 2 moms, 2 dads and about 10 babies between the two families. The parents are super protective of the babies as they should be since there are also at least a dozen bald eagles that reside in the trees surrounding the property. At any given time there will be at least 3-4 eagles sitting along the edge of the pond while others are watching from the trees. Eagles LOVE baby geese ! They are apparently delicious. This morning one of the eagles was getting a little too close to the geese families and the parents did not like that one bit. There was much honking and wing flapping on the part of the geese and screeching and hopping from the eagles. It didn't take long for the eagle to realize there was not going to be a breakfast buffet today.
Our other bird population consists of wild turkeys. We have had six very large male turkeys, (Jakes) and 4 smaller females, (hens) out picking at the grass our back. They really enjoy the corn I put out for the deer each afternoon but they have to be quick before the 2 sand cranes and one LARGE crow eat it all. Yesterday I was entertained by two jakes trying to get the attention of one hen. She came strolling across the yard with the 2 males following close behind. She paid them no mind but instead decided to play with them a bit. She went around the back of the milk house, (a small red building where the milk was stored when this was a working farm.). The two males followed but as they were behind her by about 10 feet she turned the corner of the milk house so by the time they reached where she had been she was gone. This went on for at least a good ten minutes and it was great fun to watch. She finally got tired of playing with the two fools and walked off across the field while they were still looking for her around the milk house. (Men, they are so predictable!)
Our other back yard visitors this year include one red squirrel who comes up to the glass door and stares at us. Chippy the chipmunk is back from last season, (glad to see he made it through the winter), and to the horror of all the critters and birds there is a new cat in the neighborhood. And this cat is NOT fooling around. Apparently one of the neighbors down the road got the cat to catch mice down at their place. It has now taken it upon itself to parole the neighborhood. Watch out Chippie and squirrel and birds. The cat has long hair, is multicolored and must weigh at least 20 pounds. I don't think the eagles will be messing with it.
Last night I went out to the milk house to get corn to feed the deer. As I came around the corner of the milk house door the cat was sitting right inside the milk house. It startled me and it seems I scared it because it ran out a hole in the back wall, took off across the lawn running about twenty miles an hour and it has not been seen since.
Maybe the squirrels, Chippy and birds don't have to worry. I may have saved them all.
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