Siggy's Blurbs: Siggy's Edge of Country …

I am waiting to see how long it takes for the birds to find the suet, again. For years I put some up right next to the trunk of the large white pine outside our window. I got tired of sharing the suet with the squirrels. Sometimes I would have to put up new suet once a day. My wife surprised me with not one but two cages to enclose suet cakes. It was a Christmas present she gave me before the holidays. The cages are supposed to be squirrel proof. I put up the one that had largest holes. I wanted bigger woodpeckers to be able to reach the suet. The suet I put near the trunk of the tree was finally gone. I want to see how long it would take the birds to find the suet in the cages. Today I saw a chickadee alight on the outside of the cage briefly. That is the closest I got to seeing a bird go in the cage. It might take weeks before a woodpecker goes into the cage. And they seemed to like that the suet near the trunk of the tree. Let us see how many weeks go by. Birds are creatures of habit.

Tags: a cage enclosing suet cakes, bird feeding, birds, birds are creatures of habit, chickadee, Christmas present, my wife, squirrel proof, suet cage, the birds are competing with the squirrels for suet, the suet placed near the trunk of the tree, woodpeckers
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It is a mystery to me when birds come to my feeders.  Sometimes the dogs chase them away.  Other times I don’t know why they don’t come.  There is birdseed there.  I just don’t know.  It is always puzzling to me that I can put out a new suet cake and the birds find it almost right away.  And that is after I have been out for awhile.  The birds provide such pleasure.  In the spring I noted we have quite a few goldfinch.  Sometimes there are so many I see them at two different feeders–the sunflower and thistle feeder.  It always amazes me that one will sit on the thistle feeder for five minutes at a time feeding.  The males are reverting to yellow, again.  We have been having three different kinds of woodpeckers come to eat the suet:  downy, red bellied and now hairy.  The hairy woodpecker has become a regular visitor.  In the past, we hardly ever saw one.  At least one knows about the suet.  The hairy woodpecker is twice the size of the downy.  Though somewhat similar in markings.

Tags: bird feeding, bird-watching, birds, birdseed, dogs, downy woodpecker, goldfinch, goldfinch in spring, hairy woodpecker, pets, red bellied woodpecker, suet cake, sunflower feeder, thistle feeder, woodpeckers
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It was a funny moment.  I got tired of my squirrels eating my suet I put out for the woodpeckers.  I rattled the screen door as if I was going to dash out side to yell at the critters eating my suet.  Usually I don’t.  This time a squirrel peeked his head from the other side of the tree.  “Is he really coming out this time?” he was wondering this time.  I just laughed when I saw that. I have almost given up discouraging the squirrels.

Tags: a funny moment, bird feeding, sharing the suet with the woodpeckers, squirrels, squirrels eating my suet, woodpeckers
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Praise the Lord I can feed my seven cats and four dogs.  The dogs are large dogs between seventy-five and ninety pounds so it take quite a bit dog food to feed them.  The cats are not as bad although we get special cat food for them:  one cat needs a certain diet and we can’t feed him that and not the rest of the six cats a cheaper cat food.  And that does not include the bird seed I put out and the suet cakes for the woodpeckers.  It is only by grace I can do all those things.  Some families who are broke or unemployed would love to have the money we spend just on our pets (and bird seed).  Praise the Lord for all that.

Tags: bird feeding, bird food, birds, cat food, cats, dog food, dogs, feeding our pets and birds, four dogs, God, large dogs, our provisions are only by grace, our seven cats and four dogs, pets, praise the Lord, seven cats, suet cakes, woodpeckers
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I just put out a fresh suet cake for the birds and a white breasted nuthatch found it within seconds.  That amazed me:  that a bird would find it so quickly.  I wonder what keen senses birds must possess to locate food.  Is it smell or sight or was it just coincidence that the bird found the suet cake so quickly.  It could be habit.  I regularly put suet out for the birds, particularly for the woodpeckers.  I just wonder about that.

Tags: bird feeding, bird-watching, birds, suet cake, suet cakes, the senses of the birds, white-breasted nuthatch, woodpeckers
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We went to an natural preserve where the endangered red cockaded woodpecker frequents.  I got tired of walking.  Every step I took would be one more step back.  There was no loop on the trail.  My friend kept walking and when he came back, he reported seeing a pair.  The board walk went through swamp land.  The woodpeckers like long leafed pine.  To me, the trees were odd because most of them went fifty feet up until they had branches.  My friend said they were common in this area.  I kept looking but did not see any of those woodpeckers although I was happy he saw a pair.  I was glad when he returned to the car and we returned.  I was ready for a nap.

Tags: board walk, everything appears new, long leafed pine, my friend, natural preserve, new area, ready for a nap, red-cockaded woodpecker, swamp land, tired of walking, trail, woodpeckers
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In a short time–twenty seconds–I saw a Carolina wren, a brown creeper, the ubiquitous titmouse and a red bellied woodpecker–all from my window.  They were feeding on the birdseed I put out on the ground plus the suet cake placed next to the trunk of my large white pine tree.  The woodpecker took a chunk of fat from the suet cake and disappeared.  I could never understand why it is called a red bellied woodpecker.  The red is on its head not its belly.  It is a big magnificent woodpecker I never saw before I started putting out suet cakes regularly.

The small sized downy woodpeckers are more frequent visitors than the red bellied woodpeckers.  Sometimes you can see two or three downy woodpeckers at one time although they maintain their space between each other.  They march up and down the pine tree stiffly like they are at attention.  The Carolina wren is a big wren as far as wrens goes–maybe the biggest and feeds on the ground as well at the suet.

The brown creeper is a nondescript little brown bird with a curved beak that does just that creep up and down the trunk of the pine tree.  It occasionally can be found on the ground but usually is found on the trunk of the tree going up and down the tree.  Of the four birds, it comes here the least.  These birds mentioned can be found here all year around.

Every once in awhile I spot a new bird and become excited.  The latest was a red-cockaded woodpecker that came every day for a few days although I saw no red on it.  It took several visits before I could make a positive identification.  It is a midsized woodpecker between the size of a downy and red bellied woodpecker.  I had never seen one before.  Watching birds from my large living room window gives me much pleasure.

Tags: bird feeding, bird seed, bird-watching, birds, brown creeper, Carolina wren, downy woodpecker, large window, red bellied woodpecker, red-cockaded woodpecker, suet cake, titmouse, white pine tree, woodpeckers
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The grackles are scaring the other birds away in my front yard.  I had to stop putting out suet cakes.  The grackles liked them too much.  And the woodpeckers (red bellied and downy) stopped coming.  And other birds attracted to the suet.  Like the brown creeper and white breasted nuthatch.  More than once I saw a grackle take a bite of suet and go back to grab another and they still had not swallowed the first bite which was still hanging from their beak.  I did not know how to discourage them.  I know they are God’s creatures.

I wish they would go away.  Nevertheless they knew a good thing when they saw it.  They also would feed on the bird seed I scattered on the ground.  I did not mind them sharing the suet cakes with the woodpeckers but they chased them away.  I was going through at least one cake a day.  They are almost a dollar at WalMart.  Even with no suet cakes being put out they are still coming although not as many.  I just don’t know what to do.  I miss the suet feeding birds I used to see regularly from my front window.

Tags: bird feeding, bird seed, bird-watching, birds, brown creeper, downy woodpecker, front window, God, God's creatures, grackles, red bellied woodpecker, suet cakes, white-breasted nuthatch, woodpeckers, yard
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How careless is He with the two feet straw sticking out at all angles out of the snow.  The last day or two I noticed this wild straw and how beautiful it looked against the white.

There is so much beauty around and He is so careless and free with it.  I never forgot the time my son was in the car speeding down a major highway and he mentioned how beautiful the sky was.

I looked and it was a plain gray.  Not so plain to Saul.  There is so much we miss and God is so free with it.  I strained to figure out whether the bird a hundred feet away was the elusive pilliated woodpecker.

Finally I walked away.  I saw the red head but could not tell if it was the red bellied woodpecker or the other.  Both are fairly big woodpeckers.

I could not tell in the distance.  Such beauty all around.  And I am so blind to it sometimes.  Or just plain preoccupied.

Tags: beautiful sky, beauty all around, bird-watching, birds, God, my son, pilliated woodpecker, red bellied woodpecker, so much beauty, wild straw, woodpeckers
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I have always lived at the edge of country.  Of course, some people are more divorced from it if they are surrounded by concrete but it is always there you just have to look a little harder.

Growing up I watched my mother plant vegetables and flowers and other things.  We had a mulberry and fig and apricot tree and some of the biggest blackberries I have ever seen.

It was a small plot of land but she tilled it well.  We had fresh string beans and tomatoes.  She loved roses.  The garden was a place she could disappear in.  And she often did for hours.

We lived in a bustling little city but that garden we had was an introduction to many things.  I learned to love deep red stemmed roses.

On weekends my father brought us into the country, mountains and shore but most of my life I lived in the edge of country.  I learned to appreciate what came my way.

Today I still love birds.  I have several bird feeders that I can view from our large living room windows and watch a steady parade of chickadees and titmouse and woodpeckers just to name a few.

It all started in Mom’s garden and the weekend trips we took as a family.  I learned to love the mountains and trees and lakes and and so many other things.

Tags: apricot tree, bird feeding, bird-feeders, bird-watching, birds, blackberries, chickadees, country, edge of country, fig tree, flowers, fruit trees, garden, lakes, Mom's garden, mountains, mulberry tree, my father, my mother, nature, plant vegetables, red roses, roses, shore, string beans, titmouse, tomatoes, trees, woodpeckers
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There were certain birds I never saw before I started feeding them.  A red bellied woodpecker was one.  I never saw a Carolina wren before.  Those are two birds that quickly come to mind.

There are others like a white breasted nuthatch who likes feeding on the suet I put out for the woodpeckers.  I never had a large living room window facing the yard before from where I can watch the birds come to and fro several bird feeders.

Our window faces a large white pine and there are bushes on the edge of the porch.  When the frost is ended I will put out sugar water and watch the daily parade and antics of the ruby throated hummingbirds feeding on them.

I consider myself lucky to have this situation.  I have always loved birds and I get a lot of pleasure of watching the steady stream of them.

Tags: bird feeding, bird-feeders, bird-watching, birds, Carolina wren, hummingbirds, living room window, nature, red bellied woodpecker, ruby-throated hummingbird, spring, suet, sugar water for birds, white pine tree, white-breasted nuthatch, winter, woodpeckers
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I left the door open to hear the cardinal sing although it let in some cool air.  It has been months since I heard one.  And I stood at the entrance to listen to the fifteen seconds of singing.  A few seconds later, I heard the cackle of a Pileated Woodpecker across the yard and from somewhere off in another direction the distant pecking of another woodpecker.

I must miss quite a bit since I usually do not get up before 9 AM.  I was going to church this morning and had set my alarm for 7:30.  I finally closed the door:  the brief concert was over.

Tags: bird concert, bird song, bird-watching, birds, cardinal, early morning, front door, God, going to church, Pileated Woodpecker, woodpeckers
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