I’m happy to report that, one week later, no squirrel has managed to gain access to the Bird Buddy.
Not for a lack of trying. The little bastards climbed the pole and chewed halfway through the plastic on the bottom of the baffle, leaving it dangling precariously. Another day or two, and they would have breached the perimeter.
Today, armored reinforcements were called in. Try chewing through metal, assholes!
They may be stubborn, but I’m stubborner. I will win the war…mark my words.
This pair, on the other hand, is always welcome. They’ve been showing up on a daily basis, and the male likes to feed the female. Turns out this is cardinal courtship behavior. It’s pretty freakin’ adorable if you ask me.
Cardinals love the feeder. We also get a lot of brown cowbirds, rose-breasted grosbeaks, and sparrows. It’ll be interesting to see the migration of species as the seasons change. Robins, finches, and orioles flock to our yard too, but they prefer the feeders on the deck (thistle for the finches, grape jelly and oranges for the orioles), or – in the case of robins – worms yanked from the ground.
If I’m ever reincarnated as a bird, I’m hoping it’s an oriole. Just sayin’.
Tara’s sister Maggie came up for a quick visit this week. Real quick, as in, barely 48 hours. Tara put her to work in the garden, which is fantastic, because it means less time that I have to spend in the garden.
Not that I’m opposed to helping out. I have been supplying the muscle, and ended up paying for it when I developed numbness, tingling, and pain in my right hand (worse at night). Classic symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. I’d noticed this on occasion every so often, but never this intense and prolonged. I’d always associated CTS with keyboard use, but it turns out manual labor is a bigger trigger. With all the digging, shoveling, weeding, and wheelbarrow-pushing I’ve been doing, its onset is no surprise. I bought a brace/splint I’ve been wearing the past two nights, and that has helped quite a bit. Thankfully, there’s just one more raised bed to complete this weekend, and then I can quit moving shit.
Last night after dark, Tara and Maggie were on our deck, and they called me over excitedly. Our fireflies are back! I’d been on the lookout for a few days, as they showed up about the same time last year. We stood out there quite a while watching them. Maggie lives in Las Vegas, where the only lights that blink after dark are neon. Lightning bugs are a novelty for her.
Kind of a novelty for me too, honestly. I will never get tired of seeing them.
I worked through my lunch today so I could log off a little early and join Tara and Maggie at the American Legion on the Rock River. The very swollen and flooding-in-places Rock River.
That’s what nearly 5″ of rain in the first five days of the month will do. It’s been a very wet spring, in complete contrast to last year, which has resulted in a lot of flooded fields. I walked through my local park earlier this week and that proved to be a wet mistake. The trails were flooded, even the wooded ones. Took my hiking shoes a couple of days to dry out.
Anyhoo. Before Maggie left, she wanted an authentic Wisconsin Friday fish fry. And cheese curds, of course. So, we took her to Brock’s River Walk Tavern & Grill for both. It’s our go-to for first-time Sconnie visitors and never disappoints.
I’m now parked on the deck awaiting the arrival of the fireflies while Tara drives her sister to the Milwaukee airport.
Back to work in the garden tomorrow!
Must amend that. 
Mark My Words 
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