Rich is hunting bluejays. With Darryl's BB gun. He tried getting rid of them by knocking their nest out of the camelia bush and turning the babies loose to fend for themselves, hoping the neighbor cats would eat them. (Our cat is afraid to come out of the house because they have been dive-bombing her and even trying to follow her into the house.) But at least one of the babies survived and now the parents and aunts and uncles and grandparents are all flying around and squawking. He missed. Made them nervous though.It is STILL cold here. Yesterday we had a garage/plant sale. We sat outside all day and froze. It was cloudy and windy and below 60 degrees. Every once in awhile the sun would come out and we would warm up for like 2 seconds, and then it would disappear again. Sold a lot of plants though. Not too much other stuff.
Today I planted 14 tomato plants and a tomatillo. Still have at least 2 tomatoes to plant. Going to make much more of that wonderful sauce that we have been eating all winter. Four varieties of paste/sauce tomatoes. So I'm going to try some different recipes to have some variety in sauces. Mmmm.
12 comments:
"Something You Don't See at Our House Very Often" or "Violence Solves Everything". C'mon, you hippies couldn't come up with an alternative solution to protect the homeland...I mean cat?
From the Contra Costa Times
Dear Gary:
Are scrub jays carnivorous?
I ask only because we had the unfortunate experience of witnessing a jay chase, attack and begin to chow down on another bird in our backyard last weekend.
We were horrified!
Is it common for these critters to eat their own kind? The worst part of the whole experience was the poor little thing wasn't dead yet!
We have a couple of small birdbaths and feeders in the yard and almost feel like we are "setting the bait," by offering food and drink to only have them fall victim to a slaughter!
Cynthia Shehorn, Martinez
Dear Cynthia:
When a hawk catches and eats a bird, we are awed by its awesome power. But when a slick, blue-suited, crusty, streetwise scrub jay grabs another bird, we usually get angry or upset.
This is not meant as a criticism. I felt the same way when a scrub jay grabbed a baby hummingbird out of a nest I had been watching in my backyard. Grrr!
But that's just the way it is. This is the way we humans think. If it looks like it ought to be catching birds, we sit back in amazement and watch. If it looks like it should be living on peanuts, but doesn't, we react negatively.
The action between predator and prey in the wild is often violent. That's how Mother Nature runs her natural world, and nature is now living in our backyards, in case you hadn't noticed.
Scrub jays are omnivorous. They prey on insects; seeds (peanuts!); fruit; lizards; dead things; small rodents; and small birds, especially babies and injured adults. Scrub jays do this not because they are mean birds. This is the role scrub jays play in our local ecosystem
They are scavengers, and they also prey on small animals.
The bird that jay caught probably was injured in some way that you didn't notice. But jays are very good at spotting these things because uninjured adult birds are usually too strong and fast for them to catch.
There's no need to feel guilty. You are not "setting the bait" by having birdbaths and feeders in your yard.
As I said in Thursday's column, our yards are a "suburban wilderness." Most of the time the wild things we observe are wonderful and beautiful, but sometimes they are also shocking.
Put the gun down and leave the birds alone, hippy.
The cat can look after herself.
Rich and Joni: Hippies or militant survivalists?
War is not the answer!
Bring the troops home now!
Troops out of the backyard!
War is Over!
(if you want it to be)
From Moveon.org:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(May 14, 2007, Newberg, OR)-- Violent attacks have broken out in this once peaceful town.
The tribal feuds have already claimed the lives of at least three residents.
People of conscience the world over are demanding an immediate and unconditional cessation of hostilities, and a public apology from the perpetrators of the most heinous crimes, the NewbergNotes clan.
You guys crack me up.
We're serious.
As are the people of conscience the world over.
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