Garden update, and crafty wildlife

Still life with sweet peas

It's really beautiful in this part of the world right now, if just a bit on the hot side (we made it all the way to 82F yesterday), about fifteen degrees above normal, with the first cool-down looking to come at the end of next week. Other than having to keep a close eye on my garden, with all this sunshine and lack of rain, I'm truly enjoying myself.

I was supposed to be skydiving today, but my friend Linny called and told me that she isn't doing very well at all and will try again next weekend. Plus two of my other skydiving friends aren't going to be out today or tomorrow, so I just decided to let it go. It's a long drive down south without my friends to play with. So instead I joined the Fairhaven walkers for my usual Saturday trek around town. We stopped frequently to hydrate and let the slower walkers catch up. We walked down by the bay, so the breeze off the water and the early hour made it especially enjoyable. Then I went out to get some pictures of my garden.

Happy bumblebee

My garden neighbor Nate has allowed his leeks to flower, and this bee is certainly happy to see this blossom. It was simply vibrating with delight, or at least that's what it seemed like to me. Everything is going pretty darn well in my neck of the woods. The garden has been giving us beets, sugar snap peas, broccoli, lettuce, and more zucchini than we can eat. I've been giving them away to the neighbors, since they are not taking them out of the community garden.

Mr. Big Crow

We have four crows who have discovered the cat food I've been leaving out during the daytime. After a few days of chasing them away, I decided to just let them be. They are a lot of fun to watch. Plus I got a larger container for water, since I realized that many birds are having a hard time finding fresh water as it gets drier around here. This is the biggest of the four, and although it's hard to judge how big he is, with nothing to measure him by, many ravens I've seen are about his size. They are very clever, and they have already figured out that I'm the feeder and watch me going about my business.

I also ran across an interesting YouTube video that was posted by a Facebook friend. I really enjoyed watching this a few times. Some information about the making of it is as follows: "This takes place in England - the owners of the yard added each piece of the Rube Goldberg contraption slowly so that when the squirrel learned one section and got the nuts, they then added the next section. Finally it ended with what you see on the clip! It took over 2 weeks to get to this point."
Enjoy!
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Moving right along

Our plans to move from the southernmost apartment in this complex to this one, the northernmost unit, are coming along. The previous tenant is moving his couches and furniture (he has three couches, one on the porch and two in the living room) and will be out by the end of August. He said he hopes it will be by the 27th, which is next Monday. But the manager said he needs to get in there and check it all out before he can give me a date. That's all right, as I've been taking the time to get things cleaned up around here.

This is a picture of our front porch, taken last winter when I was feeding the birds in earnest. As you can see, five feeders hang by hooks for the birds to enjoy a steady food source during the lean months, when it's cold and the pickings are very slim. I tried last summer to stop feeding them, but I was unable to let myself think of them not coming to visit me. The very best time to stop feeding birds is after they've had their babies and there is an abundance of food sources. So, this summer the move has forced me to finally do it. I'll miss seeing scenes like this:

The picture was taken in the summer; you can tell by the brilliant colors of the male goldfinch (the top one in front, for example). I've learned many things during these years of birdwatching. I managed to establish a place that many goldfinch congregate. They are still around, although not on my porch in such abundance. Other tenants also feed the birds, so I will still see them. The chickadees and nuthatches are attracted to the suet feeders, and I'll continue to keep those on my new front porch.

The one thing I won't miss at all are the squirrels. They wouldn't stay away, always hoping to get a handout from the stuff dropped on the porch by the birds. They couldn't get to the feeders, although they were absolutely ingenious in their attempts. The overhang of the porch made it very difficult, so they spent their time going around to find what had dropped to the floor.

Cleaning bird droppings from the past four years has not been a lot of fun, but it's a necessary part of my duties as a tenant. It's been days and I'm now almost finished with the porch. We've got another week or ten days before we can actually move, and I'm hoping to have the majority of the cleaning done. Everything else will be in boxes and moved across thirteen apartments to our new abode.

Probably the very best part of the move has been getting rid of what I've accumulated in the last four-plus years. The clothes I brought from Boulder that have not been worn, books I won't read again, and various other parts of my past that don't need to come into the future: they've all been passed along. It's amazing how much more mobile I feel. And! The next very best part: I'm getting to keep the garden I tended all summer long!
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November scenery

Yesterday as I was walking back to catch the bus home, I saw these rocks covered with autumn leaves and a spattering of raindrops. Although I will never be able to duplicate the artistry of some of my favorite blogging friends, especially Hilary over at The Smitten Image, it will not be for lack of trying. If you visit her post (I've linked it), you'll see what I mean. No false modesty here.

Today I walked by the same stones. The leaves turned brown overnight and the scene in the picture is simply gone. I'm glad I caught it when I did. Sometimes you need to take the shot, no matter how inconvenient it might be, since life just keeps right on going by. Photography, however, is one of my favorite things these days: both my own and that of others. The hikes that the Trailblazers made in the High Country this past summer and fall are all preserved in my pictures and posts, and the Chuckanuts now beckon. (Not really; the Low Country hikes are nowhere near as stupendous, but possibilities for arty shots are just as good.) I always have my camera on my backpack's waistband so it's right where I can get at it. My fellow seniors don't like to stop and admire the scenery much; they are out for the exercise.

You know you can click to enlarge, right? :-)

Yesterday I also saw this black squirrel in the blackberry bushes right off the deck of my front porch. The bushes are at least as high as I am, covered with thorns, and extend deep into the vacant lot to the south. I have no idea how he got up on top of the thicket, but there he was, snacking away on the berries. He's not a very big guy, but he's persistent. The five squirrels that sometimes are all on my porch at once (three black, two grey) fight over the scraps dropped by the birds onto the deck, and they will sometimes chase each other away. It's a regular squirrel rumble out here at times.

At the bird store the other day, where I spent too much of my money, I asked the owner what she thinks about feeding the squirrels. She's got squirrel food (corn cobs, peanuts in the shell, etc.) offered for those who want to buy it, but according to her, the squirrels propagate all too often and don't seem to need any help from humans. There would only be more of them, and neither of these varieties are native, I learned. They are immigrants from the Northeast. The only native squirrel around these parts is the Douglas squirrel, which I don't think I've ever seen. They are small and aren't necessarily urban dwellers, and they would be at a real disadvantage around here in competition with the larger squirrels.

But I was happy to capture these two pictures. I'm feeling much better, almost completely over my cold and ready to brave Thursday's Low Country hike that has, according to today's forecast, a 70% chance of rain.
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Bellingham loves Halloween

I went down to the Farmers' Market this morning to pick up my weekly veggies, and since Monday is Halloween and I remembered last year everybody was in costume, I hoped to find some fun pictures to share. This adorable young lady was hoping I'd take a picture of her dress, she looks so cute in it, and her mother (?) is also in costume. But I'm afraid the flower child stole my heart.

This vendor has an entire costume for a party she's attending, but this morning wore only the headdress, which I must say is quite beautiful. Obviously she's going as a unicorn; she told me she made this and is quite happy to find her horn isn't going to fall off. This morning the festive atmosphere was heightened by sunny skies (at least partly sunny) and no rain! It rained all day long yesterday and is forecast to do the same tomorrow. Sort of like our hiking group noticed, lately we've had one nice day interspersed with a not-so-nice one.

Here's an organic farmer who shares a hippie background with me, I'd say. Love her glasses! She and her partner are both in costume today. Too bad I need glasses to see; I can never wear this kind of cool eyewear because they don't fit over the ones I need to keep from bumping into things.

After Thursday's wonderful hike, I've come down with a head cold that makes me wonder if it's because I did so much last week. I skipped the walk and swim today and will go to the movies instead and sit inside. My friend Judy and I are going to see 50/50 -- everybody needs a good cry now and then, right? (For those of you who don't know the premise, it's about a 27-year-old guy who learns he has cancer. They say it's not only a tear-jerker but also humorous.) I'll wait to read the reviews (in the link above) until after I've seen the movie.
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Summertime!

We Bellingham residents have been wanting a weekend like the one we just had for quite awhile. This picture was actually taken on Memorial Day, the unofficial first day of summer, but then the cool wet weather returned to dampen more than just our spirits. The official first day of summer, though, came last Tuesday and then... we had an absolutely lovely weekend. Although it was cool and a bit cloudy to begin with, Saturday got nicer and nicer. And any day we see the sun and the rain doesn't fall is a good one.

I went walking early Saturday morning with the Fairhaven walking group, after having skipped it the week before because it was raining when I woke. Yesterday we walked about five brisk miles down by the bay and ended up at the Adagio Cafe for coffee afterwards. I then moseyed down to the Farmers' Market with a new friend, Karen, who I've seen before with the walkers, but we both headed down to the market together and I got to know her a bit better. I introduced her to the Rabbit Field Farms booth, where the vendor was expecting my usual purchase of baby kale. It looked good to Karen, so she bought some too. It's especially tasty early in the season.

Then I walked over to the Y and swam a half mile, feeling like a million bucks after swimming, showering, and heading back home. After the exercise and being ready for a good lunch, I felt the weekend had an auspicious beginning. The squirrels were on the porch when I got home, and after I shoo'd them off and swept up after the birds, I realized that they aren't intimidated any more by my Super Soaker antics (which I wrote about here), because the water isn't anything that hurts them and now they know that as crazy as I look, I'm not likely to harm them either. Sigh. They have had babies, and now I have two families, a black set, smaller and native to the area, and a family of gray squirrels. I went out one day after having chased one particularly persistent guy off the porch three or four times and hurled an apple I was eating after him as he ran away. Immediately he turned and inspected it, and of course hauled it back to his den. Or maybe her den. Now I occasionally throw an apple core onto the lawn and it is gone within minutes. As long as they aren't on my porch I don't mind them. My brother-in-law used to remark that squirrels are rodents, after all, just rats with a better wardrobe.

However, I just read an article about sitting still too long in one place, that it's bad for your health. Even if you get lots of exercise otherwise, it's important to take breaks often from sitting, stand up and stretch, even for a minute. I guess these guys are doing me a favor as I snatch up my Super Soaker and run out the front door, pumping the trigger with mad abandon. They run, too, but just as soon as my back is turned, well, you know the rest.

And then yesterday, Sunday, was a brilliant day, filled with sunshine and reaching 72 degrees F. I drove down to Snohomish and ended up making four skydives before heading back home. They were all good ones, too, playing in the air with my friends and having just the best time. All my landings were good, and I'm still learning how to pack this parachute to open consistently nice and soft. I am convinced, however, that once I figure it out, I will be happy with it for the rest of my skydiving career.

Many of my apartment neighbors on the ground level (I'm on the second level) have flower gardens that are simply amazing. That's one thing I do have to say about the rain around here: everything is lush and green, and the flowers are extremely happy to show their stuff. This weekend was the beginning of what I hope will be a truly wonderful summer. And my dear virtual friends, as I read about your lives, I get to experience what your little corner of the universe is like. It means a lot to me to have such a community.
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Feeding the wildlife

Our neighbors to the west have a big backyard that I've been told is planted with organic garlic, among other things. They put up a lot of barriers to keep out the wildlife. But, as you can see, these deer have been munching there all morning long, with netting, fencing, and other attempts failing miserably at keeping them out.

Feeding the wildlife is sometimes done like this, unintentionally, or by people like me, who like to feed the birds. It was a winter ago when I saw birdseed put out by a neighbor, and I saw all the little tracks in the snow that got me started. It occurred to me that birds might need to be fed in the winter. And then I didn't stop when summer came around, and now I'm hooked on feeding the birds. And the squirrels by default.

At least I live in a second-story apartment so I don't get the deer eating up my hummingbird flowers, but I watch them eat the ground-level flowers that appeal to them. The whole Pacific Northwest is their salad bar, after all.

I have followed the tenets about feeding the birds that comes from some well-known and respected sites, such as the "All About Birds" site at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. I just looked up some information, out of curiosity, wondering how the birds crack the sunflower seeds. I learned that the black oil sunflower seeds have thin shells that are readily cracked by most birds. Some people in my apartment complex put out corn for the birds and other wildlife, but I don't. I found that it rots quickly, and this information on that website caught my eye:

Corn is eaten by grouse, pheasants, turkeys, quails, cardinals, grosbeaks, crows, ravens, jays, doves, ducks, cranes, and other species. Unfortunately, corn has two serious problems. First, it’s a favorite of House Sparrows, cowbirds, starlings, geese, bears, raccoons, and deer—none of which should be subsidized by us. Second, corn is the bird food most likely to be contaminated with aflatoxins, which are extremely toxic even at low levels.

So, it is quite possible that you could be harming rather than helping the wildlife by feeding them. After trying my best to rid myself of the House Sparrows, I've stopped putting out everything except the nyjer thistle which the finches love, and black oil sunflower seeds. I just love the cheeky chickadees, and they eat the sunflower seeds, as do the House Sparrows. I won't stop feeding my favorite guys, so I guess I have to endure the House Sparrows as well.

Here they are consuming the sunflower seeds at an alarming rate. One thing they do, however, is knock quite a few of the seeds to the ground, which are snatched up by the Spotted Towhee if it is fast enough to beat the squirrels to them. And, of course, I help by trying my best to soak the backsides of the squirrels.

I gain so much pleasure from watching the birds, and now from chasing the squirrels in the ancient tradition of all neighborhood kids with Super Soakers. I've written about this guilty pastime of mine before (feeding the birds), and I've decided that I'm not likely to quit doing it anytime soon. Learning to coexist with our wild neighbors takes a bit of effort. Just like those pesky humans I share my environment with, too!
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My nemesis

Yes, this little guy, cute as he is (to someone like SquirrelQueen, anyway) loves to come up on my porch and snag the sunflower seeds I want the chickadees to eat, not him. The other bird food, such as nyjer thistle, doesn't interest him at all. But those sunflower seeds are another matter altogether.

Not to mention he brings his whole family. I have had as many as four of them up here, fighting with each other over the seeds. They have also dug up the bulbs in my flower pot for food. I don't want to hurt them, so even though I want to throw something at them now and then, I don't. Instead, I go out to the porch and clap my hands loudly and yell at them. I was out there trying to squirt them with my little water bottle a while ago.

Watching my struggle, my downstairs neighbor said, "Why don't you go buy yourself a Super Soaker?"

"What's that?"

"Oh, it's a kid's toy that squirts water jets and it might be a lot of fun. It would probably work a whole lot better than your water bottle."

So, I just got back from the store, where I perused all the different kinds of Super Soakers and ended up buying this one. It had a picture of a kid on the front of the box with a demented look on his face, just as he was getting ready to plaster another kid with water. Once I got it assembled and loaded, I had to figure out how to use it. Since there were no kids around to show me how, I finally figured it out myself. With a demented look of my own, I went out on the front porch and got Smart Guy to take a picture of me using the Super Soaker. I discovered it shoots quite far, but it's just one shot, then you have to cock it for another shot. Never mind, I can see that I will have fun with it, and the squirrels will probably see me coming and run for their lives! The truth is, I will only wet their backsides, but I suspect I'll have fun doing it.

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Santa's visit

Yesterday my friend Gene dressed up as Santa and came to the coffee shop. When I walked in, he had had all the kids sitting on his lap, taking pictures with his own camera held at arm's length. I had to get this one (he's behind the counter here) showing that under those spats he's wearing his usual Birkenstocks. Gene is a fisherman who generously gave us our Thanksgiving salmon for the past two years. He left his usual companion at home, a 20-year-old parrot he calls Poopstain (for obvious reasons).  The small coffee shop is locally owned; Gene says Starbucks doesn't let him bring the parrot in.

I've seen the parrot get his attention by pulling on his beard to make him turn toward him. Poopers also drinks water and takes nuts from Gene's mouth. I talked Gene into taking the bird to a vet not long ago, and it turns out he's still a very healthy bird with maybe another five years of life. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of our local color.

My birdbath is getting more popular with the regulars. Yesterday I saw this scene on the front porch, and just while I was writing this, some jays flew up to partake. I've learned that when it's cold the squirrels use their tails to keep warm, which is why the one eating has it wrapped up over his spine. I've learned so much from my blogging friends!

In a few minutes I'll be heading down to the Farmers' Market, which is only open today and next Saturday, and then it will close for the season and re-open in April with the mayor tossing out the first cabbage, just like last year. I'll be there hoping for good weather. The gorgeous sunny weather is now behind us, and we've got snow coming tomorrow, and then rain for the rest of the week. When the rain returns, it will bring more moderate temperatures. That Rex block was sure nice while it lasted, but I actually look forward to the return of the usual situation here in this part of the world: rain, mist, temperatures above freezing.
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