Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Animal Tales

It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem. For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much - the wheel, New York, wars and so on - whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man - for precisely the same reasons. ~Douglas Adams, The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

I have the noisiest cardinal outside my window right now. I don't feed my birds anymore, not since last spring when we had a bear march up to my feeders in the back yard in the middle of the day and take one. I miss my birds. I really found a lot of joy and peace watching them.

My favorite time of year was when the Hairy Woodpecker babies would fledge and mom would show them how to use the suet feeders. She'd fly over, leaving them in a nearby try, get a mouthful of suet and take it to them. She'd do that a couple of times, and then then next time, she wouldn't take them any.

Finally, after peeping and peeping, they'd make their way over. They usually had pretty poor aim, and would miss the feeder the first few times. Finally, though, they'd land and eat. It was a lot of fun. I missed it last year (it broke my heart -- I pulled the feeders right around that time, and for a couple weeks I'd have woodpeckers in my trees peeping and peeping and looking at where they used to be... made me SO sad. Stupid bear.) and I'll miss it this year. I just can't figure out a way to "bear proof" my feeders, not to mention I'd rather not have bears nearby with Dakota and DD outside.

In other animal news, a third white duck has joined the crew at Quackie's pad. All of sudden they're coming out of the woodwork! Two seem to have paired up, and one tends to hang around the edges, but at least it's company. Plus there are still about half a dozen male mallards swimming around there. I hope that at least the white ducks stay -- I'd hate to see Quackie all alone again.

And in sad news, I just saw that author L. A. Banks was diagnosed with late stage adrenal cancer. They're accepting donations toward her medical costs, and I expect the prognosis is not good. Very sad. She's a talented author, and from what I can tell, a good person, too. My thoughts and prayers go out to her and her family.

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You Are Gothic



You can be too moody and impossible to understand. Most people don't have feelings as strong as yours.

You are a sensitive, romantic soul. You live to love... it's the most important thing for you.

You're quite loyal to those you love most - friends and family. You have a sweet heart.

You are a deeply spiritual and wise person. You seek meaning in every aspect of your life.



Oddly, that's quite close to correct. How'd they get that from the questions they asked? :::scratches head:::

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5 comments:

Angelina Rain said...

That sucks about the birds and the bear. I'm glad Quackie has a mate and would hate for a bear to get to him. Are there a lot of bears where you live or was there just one stray lingering through town? If there are a lot, can't the town's animal control help? I wouldn't feel safe living somewhere where a bear could come out at any time.


That's sad about LA Banks. I hope there's something that could be done for her.

Maria Zannini said...

LA Banks really caught a bad break. Poor woman.

Ref: bears
:shudders: I can put up with a lot, but I hate to have to constantly be on guard for bears.

Brandy said...

Your the first place of heard exactly what was wrong with LA Banks. How sad for her family.

Aww, sorry to hear you aren't allowed to feed the birds anymore. Maybe a solution will eventually present itself.

You have a strong personality. You are who you are, and you're darn proud of it.
You are quite guarded. You feel reluctant to reveal your true self to others.

You think on a whole other plane. You see patterns and logic where others see chaos.
You are comfortable with theories. Abstract ideas and concepts delight you.

I have no idea how correct this is, though I do enjoy Baroque architecture and LOVE Baroque music.

Hope you have a good day!

Dru said...

I heard about L.A. Bank's illness. So sad for the family.

Tori Lennox said...

The party pooper at the feeders here are black birds. They are noisy and nasty and we wish they would just go away. And they try to HOG everything.