Get off my LAWN! "Grumpy Old Farts"

[beans-on-toast]

I have a 16 apartment birdhouse, big feeder and bird bath. They think I'm the welfare department. They sing beautifully, unitil out of food, then they scream. I don't know how many hairless chicks I've scooped up. I get a ladder and find a nest that has chicks about the same size and stuff the baby in the hole. I had one jump into the wrong hole one time, an empty nest. So I went inside and watched from the window for a while... nothing. Back out, looked all over the ground, nothing, it didn't fall out. The mother got it back and it was in the nest in the hole I was aiming for. I counted.

Is it the same type of bird in all the 16 nests?

 

[BadExample]

I think so. It was a kit I bought, huge. It was supposed to be for Martins, but after I read what a PITA it is to attract them, I said screw it, sparrow house. So I got it up about 8 ft. Kind of a poor design. In order to clear out one apartment, I have to open the whole side. Then it has fiberboard dividers and last look, some have collapsed. The sparrows don't care. They don't migrate, so I can't clean and repair it in winter. Last I looked, there were still a dozen or so good rooms, but they are pretty small and might nest in the collapsed rooms too. I was worried about the large holes when tiny birds moved in, but the do a good job at making the hold smaller with nesting. Not perfect but warmer and safer than an open nest in a tree.

 

[Passinwind]

I have a 16 apartment birdhouse, big feeder and bird bath. They think I'm the welfare department. They sing beautifully, unitil out of food, then they scream. I don't know how many hairless chicks I've scooped up. I get a ladder and find a nest that has chicks about the same size and stuff the baby in the hole. I had one jump into the wrong hole one time, an empty nest. So I went inside and watched from the window for a while... nothing. Back out, looked all over the ground, nothing, it didn't fall out. The mother got it back and it was in the nest in the hole I was aiming for. I counted.

Sometimes the parents or siblings eject a hapless young 'un or two. But the youngsters in the box outside my kitchen look like they mean bidness, they don't call them Violent Green Swallows for nuthin'.

 

[BadExample]

Very cool Charlie! I might get into some more purpose-built habitat once we move to the Phils. Wife planning on a homeless animal shelter. So many species there, and so many are loosing habitat. The common folk there are very ignorant about ecology. The poor people (3/4 of the pop.) will eat anything that moves.

You would not believe the rabbit population here. In the spring, when they are doing what rabbits do best, and the lawn is growing fast, they will nest in my yard that was mowed a week earlier. So I have to be very careful of them, else bunnies shoot out all over the place when I mow (usually unharmed). I cut around the nest in a large football shape when I see a nest. Then don't mow that area until they have all moved out. After the 3rd threatening letter from the city, I wrote them back instead of calling, telling them this is a wildlife habitat and they are promoting violation of state law, and any more correspondence shall be sent to my attorney (copied my attorney and stated so). Since then I can do whatever I want

 

[GonePlaid]

Very cool Charlie! I might get into some more purpose-built habitat once we move to the Phils. Wife planning on a homeless animal shelter. So many species there, and so many are loosing habitat. The common folk there are very ignorant about ecology. The poor people (3/4 of the pop.) will eat anything that moves.

You would not believe the rabbit population here. In the spring, when they are doing what rabbits do best, and the lawn is growing fast, they will nest in my yard that was mowed a week earlier. So I have to be very careful of them, else bunnies shoot out all over the place when I mow (usually unharmed). I cut around the nest in a large football shape when I see a nest. Then don't mow that area until they have all moved out. After the 3rd threatening letter from the city, I wrote them back instead of calling, telling them this is a wildlife habitat and they are promoting violation of state law, and any more correspondence shall be sent to my attorney (copied my attorney and stated so). Since then I can do whatever I want

Cool! You can fight City Hall. I did something similar with an HOA when we were having a water shortage.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Birds can be pretty ruthless. When I was a kid we had purple martins nesting, some other breed came along and kicked them and the naked chicks out, they stole the nest.

I see crows in the park stealing food from squirrels. One will distract the squirrel, the other will come from behind and snatch what the squirrel had. Crows really teach their young. I see them giving flying lessons. Not just flying but diving and acrobatics. Once I saw an adult giving vocalization lessons to a group of yound ones all lined up on a branch. Singing all kinds of different songs. They seem to have quite a vocabulary to communicate with one another. Of course crows can talk.

Geese seem to have a lot of class. They bring their babies to a daycare. One mother will take care of all of them for the day while the parents are away. It’s interesting to see dozzens of yound ones and their gardian. They really seem to listen.

Turkeys are about the dumbest birds that I encounter. They walk on the road in large groups but don’t have the sense to move to the side and get out of the way.

As for rabbits and I’ll add groundhogs to the list. We had them in the yard years ago. They thought that the garden was put there for them. It was always a competition to see who was going to get to that perfectly ripened tomato first. Nine times out of ten I’d get outsmarted by the critters.

 

[Passinwind]

You would not believe the rabbit population here.

My peoples call that "owl food."

We had a ton of rabbits here for the last few years, but the owls appear to have gained on that quite bit this year.

Just watched about 30 juvenile quail taking over all three of our garden plots a few minutes ago. Some mornings they get out there before I do, and inadvertently flushing them is about all the excitement this geezer can handle at 6AM.

 

[BadExample]

Cool! You can fight City Hall. I did something similar with an HOA when we were having a water shortage.

They fear state and federal laws... and the constitution.

 

[BadExample]

My peoples call that "owl food." View attachment 3109761 We had a ton of rabbits here for the last few years, but the owls appear to have gained on that quite bit this year.

Just watched about 30 juvenile quail taking over all three of our garden plots a few minutes ago. Some mornings they get out there before I do, and inadvertently flushing them is about all the excitement this geezer can handle at 6AM.

I've never seen or heard an owl here in town. Plenty of Hawks and now Turkey Buzzards. Now those are cute!

 

[Passinwind]

I've never seen or heard an owl here in town. Plenty of Hawks and now Turkey Buzzards. Now those are cute!

The Gorge is a pretty happening flyway, all kinds of cool birds come though at one time or another. The resident Barred Owls can be heard quite often, but there are plenty of other flavors around as well.

@beans-on-toast: At our place Scrub Jays fill the niche that crows or ravens often do elsewhere. They are crazy smart, live a long time if they make it through the first year or so, and definitely interact with different humans in different ways.

 

[beans-on-toast]

I always thought that I’d like a barn owl for mice and bats for the bugs. The big one near the grave yard is kind of scary. Wouldn’t want that one swooping down on me.

Markbass adopted the look of an owl for their speakers.

There’s an area that I drive through that, every five years like clockwork, large populations of owles show up for a couple of weeks, then move on. They aren’t migratory like ducks or geese but they apparently do go on tour.

I think that one of the most interesting local birds is the great blue heron. They stand in the reeds looking just like a long legged bird. When they take to flight, with their huge wingspan, they look so much like a dinosaur from a different era as they effortlessly glide through the air.

 

[rust_preacher]

Yeah. We have them pterodactyls too. Yesterday I took swim with the missus and two of those ^^ flew circles around us at low altitude. They are a bit creepy when they stand motionless in the reeds.

Tomorrow morning is the start of the dove season. Neighboring farm thrashed their wheat field. 500 ft to dove stand from my door. I'll be there before sunrise.

 

[beans-on-toast]

How do you cook them?

 

[beans-on-toast]

I am preparing to see my wonderful Chiropractor

Did the session help? I suppose that low blood sugar also plays a role in shaking. Nerve damage has all sorts of side effects.

Exercising the muscles is always good. I've got to stretch throuout the day.

My grandmother was always very formal and would only serve tea in a proper cup and saucer. I have fond memories of her rattling a full cup on a saucer as she served me. Never once did she give me a lapful.

 

[Passinwind]

I think that one of the most interesting local birds is the great blue heron. They stand in the reeds looking just like a long legged bird. When they take to flight, with their huge wingspan, they look so much like a dinosaur from a different era as they effortlessly glide through the air.

One of my favorites too David. Ther's a large rookery near Bonneville Dam and when I was working out there at night there was a seriously primordial vibe going on. Usually one GBH per turbine intake float on Powerhouse Two, so at least 18 out there fishing, squabbling, and scaring me pretty seriously if I was walking around on autopilot and flushed a few, not an uncommon thing given my crazy long hours and often working solo. In the daytime we'd get Ospreys instead.

 

[GonePlaid]

I always thought that I’d like a barn owl for mice and bats for the bugs. The big one near the grave yard is kind of scary. Wouldn’t want that one swooping down on me.


View attachment 3110016


Markbass adopted the look of an owl for their speakers.
View attachment 3110017



There’s an area that I drive through that, every five years like clockwork, large populations of owles show up for a couple of weeks, then move on. They aren’t migratory like ducks or geese but they apparently do go on tour.

I think that one of the most interesting local birds is the great blue heron. They stand in the reeds looking just like a long legged bird. When they take to flight, with their huge wingspan, they look so much like a dinosaur from a different era as they effortlessly glide through the air.


View attachment 3110018

View attachment 3110019

Flying foxes are cool! Someone should put a pair of fake owl ears on their MarkBass.

 

[BassmanPaul]

Did the session help? I suppose that low blood sugar also plays a role in shaking. Nerve damage has all sorts of side effects.

Exercising the muscles is always good. I've got to stretch throuout the day.

My grandmother was always very formal and would only serve tea in a proper cup and saucer. I have fond memories of her rattling a full cup on a saucer as she served me. Never once did she give me a lapful.

My right hand has improved no end. That’s the one she’s been working on as it’s my primary. My left is about the same, When I hold hy hands out int front of my my left thumb flutters like a leaf in a wind storm.

Talking about storms we had a little one yesterday we thought. We got a good soaking, which we certainly needed. Downtown Toronto received a months worth of rain in a couple of hours. There were floods. People had to be rescued from their cars. Two men got caught in an elevator that stalled and began to flood. They managed, luckily, to get a cell phone call out and called 911. Two officers arrived and had to strip of their ‘accessories' and swim down to the door. With a crow bar they managed to get the door open enough to get the men out. They had survived by standing on the rails in the elevator car to keep their heads above water. Ten minutes after their rescue the air space that kept them alive was gone!

The big problem is the sheer growth of the city and the crumbling infrastructure that has not kept pace. I am glad we ended up atop of a hill and have never had a flood. My thoughts go out to the folks who did.

 

[beans-on-toast]

I got stuck in an elevator between floors a couple of years ago.

We were stuffed in shoulder to shoulder and it was overloaded with mostly idiot students that couldn’t split their group up and wait for a second elevator to arrive, probably why it stalled.

They called the fire department. The first thing that they did was power it down and lock the cab, then they opened the door. With the power down there were lights but no ventilation. They opened the door, there was about a two foot opening at the top. They slid a ladder in and one by one we had to climb up and be pulled out.

There was a guy freaking out because of being confined that had to be dealt with by a fireman. I didn’t blame him, we were all stressed. One person couldn’t climb the ladder for health reasons and had to be taken out strapped to a board. There was also a mother with a crying baby. She very reluctantly passed her baby through the opening to a fireman.

It was hot in there and everyone was drenched. As each person exited, it was somewhat undignified. One guy didn’t squeeze through the space well and lost his pants as they tugged on him. Someone caught their leg on something sharp and had blood running down.

We all got out. They reset the elevator, it performed a calibration, going to the top and then stopping at each floor down, and minutes later it was operating again. I was surprised that they didn’t have a tech look at it before it was back in service.

This hasn’t been the only such incident. Now when an elevator is getting overcrowed, I either tell people to wait or I get off.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

I got stuck in an elevator between floors a couple of years ago.

We were stuffed in shoulder to shoulder and it was overloaded with mostly idiot students that couldn’t split their group up and wait for a second elevator to arrive, probably why it stalled.

They called the fire department. The first thing that they did was power it down and lock the cab, then they opened the door. With the power down there were lights but no ventilation. They opened the door, there was about a two foot opening at the top. They slid a ladder in and one by one we had to climb up and be pulled out.

There was a guy freaking out because of being confined that had to be dealt with by a fireman. I didn’t blame him, we were all stressed. One person couldn’t climb the ladder for health reasons and had to be taken out strapped to a board. There was also a mother with a crying baby. She very reluctantly passed her baby through the opening to a fireman.

It was hot in there and everyone was drenched. As each person exited, it was somewhat undignified. One guy didn’t squeeze through the space well and lost his pants as they tugged on him. Someone caught their leg on something sharp and had blood running down.

We all got out. They reset the elevator, it performed a calibration, going to the top and then stopping at each floor down, and minutes later it was operating again. I was surprised that they didn’t have a tech look at it before it was back in service.

This hasn’t been the only such incident. Now when an elevator is getting overcrowed, I either tell people to wait or I get off.

That one had me cringing Beans. I've been stuck in the City elevator seven times. But I have to use it to move equipment.

We have piles of eagles flying in Sitka at this time. This morning I almost ran into two eagles swooping over the highway fighting over whatever. The trees are full of eagles of all ages-- it's the fishing season, and sockeye are very plentiful this year. One friend just gave me three very large dressed sockeye salmon. I have to filet it of course but they are beautiful. Also crows and seagulls up to their usual mischief around town.

 

[beans-on-toast]

How are the bears in Sitka? I’ve seen them taking one bite out of a salmon belly then going after another one. That must be where the birds step in.