Going With What I’ve Got in Everyday Ramblings

As we move into full on summer the flowers are harder to find. I did see some hollyhocks yesterday when I was wandering around but they were not easily photographable. So we will go with variations on the hydrangea theme.

After a rowdy morning Diego is curled up in a ball sleeping beside me on a well-pawed chenille blanket I keep on the end of the bed. His brother just jumped up beside him and they are having a mutual bath. This could go either way, an easy late morning nap or an intense bapping session that involves a separation.

I am walking over to Mrs. Sherlock’s house later this afternoon to hang with her and see the garden and have dinner so I am having a lazy morning. As lazy as I get.

For years all I had to deal with in terms of the bird feeder array that I put out in my patio well to provide reality TV for the cats were a few squirrels and lots of slugs and an occasional raccoon family.

Then one of my neighbors across the way started throwing a scattering of mixed seed on the ground out front and that began attracting pigeons. I have nothing personal against pigeons and the cats enjoy watching them but they are voracious and I didn’t want them back here.

The squirrels are bad enough.

I have been buying this low cost no waste seed mix that is full of peanuts, shelled peanuts. I have been separating them out when I fill my tube feeder so I have a big bowl full of feeder grade peanuts and yesterday I got this brilliant idea to throw the peanuts and shelled sunflower seeds out front, with a little trail from my door to attract the big critters out there and leave the song birds to us.

Most of them are on the nest now anyway or like the juncos back up in the mountains.

I have this neighbor, another neighbor told me he is Italian but I think he is more Slavic, maybe he is both, an old guy, retired, without a car but with a wife that is very traditional. They fight all the time! They fight on the street, in the breezeway, going to church, waiting for a car. He takes the bus to the same grocery as me during the day sometimes.

He is a major grumpus.

There is a daughter and a couple of grandkids that come visit now and then. The wife accidentally locked herself out on her deck once and was terribly embarrassed as she was in a housedress and slippers. I went and got the manager to let her back in. They do have a hummingbird feeder.

Anyway, yesterday afternoon Mr. Grumpus came out his door and saw the little pile of peanuts and black oil sunflower seed and kicked them back towards the plantings in front of my patio well.

Sigh.

I understand if you are concerned about attracting unwanted visitors, rats and possums and aforementioned raccoon families but he was foiling my plans. I wonder if I would have been less annoyed if he was a neighbor that had a more positive affect?

A bag of safflower seeds is on it’s way to me. Squirrels are supposed to not like them.

Now both cats are sleeping at the end of the bed, not together but close.

Have you all seen Coco? It is wonderful. I can see watching it a number of times because the visuals are so spectacular. I particularly like the huge spirit cat with wings!

Most people want to stay where they live and work and have family. I am beginning to think the President is right that I as a Democrat think we should have open borders. That way people can come work here if they need and want to and then go home. If people can go home, it is safe for them to go home, they will!

3% of the world’s population is displaced or on the move.

Do you want to work in dangerous conditions in a meat packing plant or a plastics factory or picking produce and living in temporary housing?

My guess is that if I warmed up to my grumpy neighbor that there is quite a story there, a story that would maybe soften my heart and be less annoyed next time he interferers in my squirrel reduction plan.

But maybe not. What I do know is that while he annoys me, his pervasive unhappiness is a drag, I haven’t ever once wondered what his immigration status is. And I don’t intend to now.

It is the pigeons that are the problem. They eat everything.

Last updated June 24, 2018