The Birds

Real life has really been interfering with my blogging lately. I have a lot of news about the birds in the back yard, though. The cherries have been ripening, and the squirrels and birds both go crazy for them. They make a ruckus up in the tree. Wild birds hold the branch with their feet, I think, and try to pick the cherry while flapping their wings to stay in the air. Then the bird swoops down the the ground to eat the fruit. Good luck, because the chickens come racing over with wings spread to scare the bird away, and the chicken eats the cherry. There are seeds all over the ground under the tree.

I'd like to net a portion of the tree so we can have some cherries! I need one of those guns from Batman that shoots a net about 40 feet. How else can I get the net over the branches?

Mona was watching the chicken coop. I mentioned to her that she should chase a squirrel, since one was making a huge commotion in the tree. Mona took off for the diagonal, but noticed the cherry tree action and diverted to the tree. She chased the squirrel to another branch and apparently scared it so bad it fell in front of her. (Don't worry, she doesn't kill things.) Off they went to the other trees. Very exciting! Nothing like ripening Rainier cherries to stir up some action.

In other news, I am showing my downstairs apartment to rent it, and most people have pets. I will be considering which pets to add to our little cast of characters. An 11 year old lab and a one year old toddler? Two chihuahuas? a kelpie?

Oh yes, and one piece of bad news: I saw a rat in the chicken coop. rats. I have to figure out how to exclude them from the coop. The chicken wire does not work, as I saw one scurry up the wire and then pass through the little octagon. This means I need to buy a lot more chicken wire and the stuff I have now is only good for keeping dogs out and chickens in. When I get the chickens confined things will be better all around. They free range, and I mean range. They go all over the property. Blackie took a dust bath on the far side of the house, by the front door, and Kayleigh thought it was a fire at first. Clouds of dust rose up and now I know why the window is so darn dirty.

We may have the chance to go visit sweet Daphne this weekend. We miss her, and I think it has been long enough to bond with her new home so she won't get confused when we see her but don't take her home with us.