Cooking Day and my kitchen window

I spent most of the day cooking for company coming tonight and to cover my absence all day tomorrow.

My sister and daughter are coming tonight to spend the weekend with my mom. My husband and I are going to Philadelphia tomorrow with friends to see a museum exhibit on Cleopatra. It will be a fun day with friends, eating out, and a once-in-a-lifetime (at least my life time) museum exhibit. But it can't happen without some preparation on my part. Yes, I did do alittle house cleaning but mostly I needed to cook.

I have house-dog sat at my sister's house in the past. The fun thing about house sitting (or mother sitting like this weekend) is that the sitters can just sit and do whatever they want. There are no chores and no cooking either. When you are hungry you just go to the fridge and open to door to wonderful dishes already prepared that just need heating. So I made some meals today - one for tonight and one for tomorrow. And for those who know me well, cooking is not fun for me. But today it was different. I did pick new recipes for me - I'll share them next week as they were easy and very tasty. But what was very special was the company I kept while I cooked.

You see my kitchen window is right over my sink. I looked out frequently while I was cooking (looking for distractions I guess - and finding it). I couldn't believe just how busy my bird feeder was. And the variety of feathered visitors was great! I had no idea that many different kinds of birds graced my deck. I was constantly picking up my camera and taking pictures. Here are a few a the best ones. And as you can see not all the visitors had feathers.

I am thrilled to see the Blue Jay is back - at least I think he is a Blue Jay. I included 2 pictures of him: one where he takes center stage all by himself and one where he is sharing the feeder with another bird. I thought the comparison of size was pretty amazing. Mr. Blue hasn't let such a small perch get in the way of getting at the seed. I have never seen more than one Blue Jay. I can't believe he is the only one around.

And then there is this little cutie. I think I can take credit for that round belly.

And at one point the feeder was full and other birds were flying around like there was something given out for free. Oh wait, it was free!!... I couldn't capture all the action.

And then there was this little guy who seemed to be waiting his turn at the feeder. Some visitors had better manners than others.

Let us not forget the other guest I usually see. He is quite a looker! Don't you think? He seems to be just looking over his shoulder at me.

Yes, this afternoon was pretty great having company while I cooked.

And thankfully I have an abundance of great things in my life:

• Wednesday, November 3 - I am fortunate to live next to a watershed area - a wooded location that is the perfect home for birds.
• Thursday, November 4 - I am very fortunate to have the company of these beautiful animals - so near my home.
• Friday, November 5 - I have one pretty great point-and-shoot camera.

There. I think I am caught up there. :-)

PS - Sorry I have been gone for a few days. My car has been in and out of the shop several times this week. Currently my Maxima is in the shop and has been there for several days. She is getting older - 2003 - and hasn't really been a problem until now. And I don't think we are ready to buy another car. We want our pup-taxi back.

It has been a frustrating week trying to balance our planned schedule with inconsistent transportation. Some stuff just dropped off the calendar, like all the Tai Chi. I wasn't in the mood. But I am fortunate that the auto repair shop we deal with has given us a loaner every time, but it is frustration to not have your own vehicle.

Feathered Visitors

This picture of my two boys, Max and Wally, is pretty typical. The deck just beyond the slider is where I feed the birds and where the squirrels visit. And the two cats love to sit quietly and watch. In case the picture doesn't show it, Max is sitting on the chair above Wally who is on the floor.

We are allll bird watchers in this house.

And the birds have been fairly quiet this month. I guess there is plenty for them to eat without my seed. I haven't even seen much of the squirrels. That is unusual.

I get the typical typical Wrens and Chickadees - and we have a lot of Cardinals year round. But the woodpeckers have started to arrive.

Left is a Red Bellied Woodpecker (which is what the book says even though it is his head that is red and not his belly).

Right is a Downy Woodpecker. He wants me to go away.

I see these two guys all the time.

Several times this summer I saw a Blue Jay. He was big and beautiful, but recently he has been absent.

I am pretty sure the bird population will increase at my feeder as the season changes to winter. It is a busy feeder come December.

This evening all my dog buddies have gone home to their owners. The house is quiet beyond belief. We are a pretty quiet bunch - my mom, my husband and I. Meathead had another seizure this afternoon around 4:00. It was a short one, but all his seizures seem like hours to me when they are going on. As hard as they are to watch, I am always grateful I was present. The thought of him having seizures by himself makes me sad. It happens, of course, because he frequently is at home alone when my son goes to work. But when he isn't alone, we can give him meds to shorten the seizure and make sure he is OK.

Yesterday I put flannel sheets on all the beds. And today I heard that we are going to have a warm up for this week. Figures!! Think I will go upstairs and switch out my summer clothes for my winter ones. That should send the temperature gauge into the 90's with my luck.

I am also going to do a major clean out of clothing. A visit to the Good Will truck is on the agenda for tomorrow. And tomorrow looks like a killer day. Too many things to accomplish.

Happy Sunday to all.

Wild Life Friends

I walked today and it felt good. It was gray and cool and perfect. I remembered that this kind of weather was what I thought about when I was walking in the heat and humidity of summer. These are the glory days of walking. No heat, or freezing temps, or ice or snow. Just cool crisp days! I love Fall.

Fall and Halloween decorations are popping up in the neighborhoods. Leaves fill the streets and sidewalks. The squirrels are boldly grabbing all the acorns they can find. Since squirrels are notorious for not remembering where they hide their food, they overcompensate by hording beyond their needs. When they can't find their hidden meals, they turn up at my bird feeder - stealing seed from my resident birds.

I know that some people find squirrels to be pests. But I enjoy watching their antics and acrobatics. I admire their ingenuity and persistence in seeking food. And they proved to me that they do have some memory.

Last winter I began feeding the birds on my deck. In the spring the squirrels showed up. To deflect the squirrels, I bought a squirrels resistant feeder, called a Squirrel Buster, and corn cobs. My thought was that I would throw out the corn cobs for the squirrels keeping them busy freeing the feeders for the birds. And it worked. It actually worked too well.

Every morning I would come down stairs to make the coffee, open the blinds and pull back the kitchen slider blind - and every morning a squirrel would be sitting on my balcony staring back at me ... waiting. I would open the slider, he would retreat to the banister, I would fill the feeders and then throw a corn cob over the deck. He would scamper off to retrieve it ... and all would be well. Friends who would visit would comment on what a chubby squirrel he was. My husband and I joked that maybe we should name him. But reason took hold. The next thing you know, I would be taking him for regular veterinary care! No, no naming of the wild life!

Then one morning I opened the slider blind and there were 2 squirrels sitting there ... staring back. Word was spreading! At one point we had 4 squirrels. We were wondering if they were a family. It was alittle creepy because the numbers were climbing. But the final straw happened one day when I was returning from a walk. I was walking on the sidewalk parallel to my town home, and I became aware that something was moving beside me. I stopped and looked down. Not 3 feet away was the squirrel looking back at me. I started to walk and he kept pace. Totally freaked, I stamped my feet and he moved away. But not too far. I was the corn cob lady after all, and you never know when she would toss one. So, yes, I do think squirrels have memory - selective memory like everyone else. And there is one out there who is keeping an eye on me.

We were moving into summer and the birds would not starve, so I stopped feeding everyone. EVERYONE! The squirrels still came for a few weeks and then finally gave up. Now that it is fall, I am back to feeding the birds again. And I probably will feed the squirrels as well. I still have a few of those corn cobs. I am guessing it will take the wild life a little while to figure out "she's back!!!". :-)

I love feeding the birds. I have two bird books for the mid-Atlantic region and I have kept track of the birds I have seen off my back deck. Once I saw a Cooper Hawk in the trees behind my house. As I was admiring him through my binoculars, he took flight. I kept watch and he dived towards my deck, obviously going after one of the birds. I quickly looked him up in my book and sure enough, he eats lots of things and one was other birds! Darn. I was now creating a smorgasbord for his lunch. Somehow this feeding the wild life was more complicated than I thought.

Last winter when we had many feet of snow on the ground, I know I kept a small flock of birds alive behind my house. During one of the mega east coast snow storms I discovered that my bird feeder couldn't keep up with the demand - there were too many birds. I filled a pie plate with seed but the snow was coming down so fast, it would cover the seed before they could eat. So I put an umbrella over the pie pan so they could feed under shelter. My neighbors never asked what I was doing ... probably better not to question the nut next door!

I'll be feeding the birds again this winter. And if I need to keep a family of squirrels alive again this winter, so be it. They are hungry too!

For those who are interested in how to control squirrels, check out:

Squirrels, 101 Cunning Stratagems to Reduce Dramatically the Egregious Misappropriation of Seed from Your Birdfeeder by Squirrels by Bill Adler, Jr. It is a very fun read, because everyone knows that you can't outwit squirrels. My edition was the Second Edition "revised and even craftier".