Project Feederwatch Update

White Breasted Nuthatch-4, Black Capped chickadee-4, Pileated Woodpecker -1, Red bellied woodpecker-1, Crow-2, Northern Cardinal-2
Seems like the nuthatches spend more time head down than head up.  They seem completely comfortable going up and down. 
PS The squirrels are back on the feeder again.  No need to worry about the squirrels starving to death.

PMS (Parked Motorcycle Syndrome)

Someone close to me is buying a motorcycle on Tuesday. How very exciting! Now I will have another person to ride with.  When I look outside it seems impossible that the conditions will change enough to make motorcycle riding possible again.  A tremendous amount of snow has to melt and run off before riding is possible.  Once the city has swept the sand off the streets, I'll be on two wheels again. 

Change In Altitude

Anita Shreve wrote A Change In Altitude,  I got this book because I like Anita Shreve and because I like to read stories set in Kenya, a place I have been lucky enough to visit. The story is about a newly married couple, Margaret and Patrick. Patrick is a doctor studying diseases of the equator. Margaret is a lost young wife who eventually gets a job taking photographs for a Kenyan newspaper. Margaret is a passive character. When her husband announces they are going to climb Mount Kenya in two weeks, she hardly has any reaction. She could have said no because she really didn't want to go but she doesn't. She goes along and the trip is a disaster. She is slower than all the other hikers and feels like she is holding up the group (something I can relate to). One of the other hikers has a fatal accident and the hike is called off before they reach the summit. This accident is a challenge to Margaret and Patrick's marriage. They drift apart. Patrick becomes a shrill and accusatory husband.  For the middle third section of the book, almost everything Patrick says drives her away.  Margaret drifts in a passive cloud into love with another man. A year passes. Patrick suggests they climb Mount Kenya again, together as a couple, to patch up their marriage. He is proposing to duplicate the situation that set the marriage on a rocky course in the first place. Some parts of the book I liked including her description of the Nairobi airport, the lodge at the foot of Mount Kenya, and altitude sickness. I liked it when she wrote a few rods in Swahili because I still remember a little bit of the language and it is good to hear it again. I think Anita Shreve did a better job of character development in other books than this one.

How Many Ways?

We had a discussion at lunch regarding a local politician who voted contrary to everyone else on the board.  He disagreed with the outcome.  In fact, he reportedly said there were 13 ways to handle the problem and this outcome would be the 13th on his list.  One person remarked that 13 was a lot of ways to handle a single problem.  Then we remembered that we've heard about more.  We remembered the song, "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover."  We tried to remember some of the 50 ways.  There was get on the bus (Gus), make a new plan (Stan),  drop off the key (Lee), slip out the back (Jack), and no need to be coy (Roy).  That is it.  Only 5 ways to leave your lover.  The song title is false advertising.

Boundary

This week I listened to a speech about boundaries-something that indicates a limit or extent.  He wasn't talking about fence lines or national boundaries but the boundaries between people-the line that says what is OK and what is not OK.  I am in the business of helping people.  Some of us come to this business because we have our own issues.  And if you are super busy helping others, you don't have to think about your own problems. Boundaries are difficult things to figure out in any job and more difficult in the helping professions.  I know people who have healthy boundaries and I know people who don't have healthy boundaries.  I know a person with healthy boundaries when I see them but to define how they act differently is difficult. I believe my boundaries have improved over the years.  I really wish I had heard a speech like this one many years ago when I first started working in this field. I have been able to see healthy boundaries and try to model those attributes.  This speaker made it crystal clear what healthy boundaries look like and how they can keep you out of trouble.  He described in detail how unhealthy boundaries affect human behavior, cause jealousy and create strife.  When I say in detail, I mean he gave us all the one fingered salute - and with both hands!  So I have been thinking about boundaries this week and it brought to mind a lunch I had at work several months ago.  I was innocently eating my lunch.  Part of my lunch included a serving of a certain yogurt peddled by Jaime Lee Curtis and advertised as part of a challenge.  I think you might know which yogurt I am talking about.  A guy came into the lunchroom.  I silently groaned but physically restrained my eyeballs from rolling.  If I come into the lunchroom and this particular guy is in there, I'll leave and come back later.  If he comes in when I'm already eating, I'm stuck with him and that is why I groaned in silence.  Groaning aloud would be rude.  He started talking. He talks incessantly.  This day he started talking about my lunch, about my yogurt, how it is advertised, how he sees it at the grocery store, and how it's not worth the extra money.  I really don't care what he thinks about my yogurt so I was silent but I knew another question was coming. I took another bite of food.  I knew he was going to ask so I was ready with my answer.  He's just that kind of person. I silently pleaded that he not ask this question. He asked, "How does that yogurt work for you?"  Two other people at the table just about spewed the food out of their mouths.  Their faces turned red and they looked down at the table. Because I was ready I said without emotion, "That is a very personal question," and went on eating.  I set a boundary with him.  I think I handled it very professionally and courteously.  He hasn't said much more about my lunch or asked any more personal questions so I think it worked.



Victory Doesn't Taste So Sweet

Finally. After many trials and many errors and lots of hard work, I have beaten the squirrels.  All last weekend, I had no squirrels on my bird feeder.  I did not need to bring out the super soaker.  The squirrel deterrents strung onto the line that holds the platform feeder are finally working.  I have a milk bottle, pvc pipe, a sobe enhanced water bottle and some pop bottles strung in the air over my back yard. It appears I have hung my recycling and trash in the air.  I moved the bird feeder farther down the line away from the deck.  Even the most acrobatic squirrels are unable to fling their bodies off the deck and grab onto the platform feeder.  I watched the squirrels out my window while I looked for birds.  I had only two squirrels visiting instead of the usual half a dozen squirrels. Several times the squirrels climbed to the deck and looked at the bird feeder but did not attempt to get to it.  The squirrel would stand on the deck railing with it's back to me, shoulders slumped and head down.  It looked so sad I (and I cannot believe I'm saying this) felt sorry for it.  To top it off, one of the squirrels had a sore on it's right flank.  The skin had an open red sore about a half inch long and a quarter inch wide.  For years I have yelled at squirrels, thrown things at them, shouted terroristic threats at them, and even squirted them with my supersoaker when it's cold out.  And now I'm feeling sorry for them?  I've wanted this bird feeder to be squirrel free.  I worked hard to get it.  Now that I've achieved my goal, I'm still not happy.  Maybe what I need to do is set up a small squirrel feeder.  I don't mind feeding the squirrels a little.  I do mind squirrels eating all the bird food and keeping the birds away from the bird feeders.

Project Feederwatch

American Crow-3, Black Capped Chickadee-4, White breasted Nuthatch-3, Dark eyed Junco-3, Red bellied woodpecker-1, Downy woodpecker-2, Northern Cardinal-2.

I heard (but did not see) a great horned owl.  I was getting the newspaper from the mail box about 6:15 when I heard it hoot.  I waited and waited but did not hear another hoot.  It's no wonder I haven't heard the barred owls calling.  They would be afraid to advertise themselves to a danger such as a great horned owl.  It was pretty exciting to hear a great horned owl hooting.

This week my bird watching results have also been turned into the Great Backyard Bird Count - an annual citizen science event that is open to anyone.  You can enter your results by going to www.birdsource.org/gbbc/