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To spritz a Mockingbird?
3 years ago
Hello fellow FA Artists, writers, musicians, photographers, crafters, fursuiters, and friends of wildlife.
In Harper Lee's 1960 novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird," The character Atticus Finch tells his children Jem and Scout that they can "Shoot all the blue jays they want, but it is a sin To Kill a Mockingbird." Why? later on the text explains that Mockingbirds fill the air with their music and do no harm. I'm certain Harper Lee never had suffered sleep deprivation because a mockingbird decided to set up shop outside her bedroom window. Remember about a year ago I wrote in my journal about a Mockingbird that would sing all night on the rooftop next to my bedroom window, right? I even went as far as to buy a powerful squirt gun to, let's say "Discourage" the Nocturnal Avian Musical Artist from performing his concerts which started after sunset and continued through the night. To tell you the truth, I never, ever got to use that squirt gun.
I used a garden hose instead.
Apparently, the Nighttime songster had been making "Performances" throughout the neighborhood, and I'm certain the people in my community have dealt with the annoyance in their own ways. However, things are just a little different this year. As soon as the bird spots anyone approaching his tree or telephone pole, he departs the scene quickly. Apparently, this Mockingbird has figured out that people under his tree mean no trouble, but IF they happen to be carrying anything the bird recognizes as a "Weapon," it's time to Fly. So, this year the Mockingbird returned, and it seemed that he'd follow me from room to room as I moved about the house. I finally caught him atop the phone pole, near the kitchen window, and when he saw me approaching with the hose, he "Booked." The bird did however retreat to the high trees in the wild area abiove the canyon, where there are no houses or human made structures.
Don't get me wrong. I appreciate the wild creatures that live in Wildcat Canyon, and the surrounding, semi wilderness areas. But to tell you folks the truth, I have never had my sleep interrupted by the quail, small birds, Blue Jays, Woodpeckers, Squirrels, Raccoons, and I make an exception with the Coyotes. I have never lost sleep because of the little, Whitetail deer that roam the hills above the area, either.
Have a safe and wonderful Fourth of July my friends. For the best results, do try to attend Professional fireworks show. No sense setting yourselves, or the world for that matter, on fire.
"Peace."
In Harper Lee's 1960 novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird," The character Atticus Finch tells his children Jem and Scout that they can "Shoot all the blue jays they want, but it is a sin To Kill a Mockingbird." Why? later on the text explains that Mockingbirds fill the air with their music and do no harm. I'm certain Harper Lee never had suffered sleep deprivation because a mockingbird decided to set up shop outside her bedroom window. Remember about a year ago I wrote in my journal about a Mockingbird that would sing all night on the rooftop next to my bedroom window, right? I even went as far as to buy a powerful squirt gun to, let's say "Discourage" the Nocturnal Avian Musical Artist from performing his concerts which started after sunset and continued through the night. To tell you the truth, I never, ever got to use that squirt gun.
I used a garden hose instead.
Apparently, the Nighttime songster had been making "Performances" throughout the neighborhood, and I'm certain the people in my community have dealt with the annoyance in their own ways. However, things are just a little different this year. As soon as the bird spots anyone approaching his tree or telephone pole, he departs the scene quickly. Apparently, this Mockingbird has figured out that people under his tree mean no trouble, but IF they happen to be carrying anything the bird recognizes as a "Weapon," it's time to Fly. So, this year the Mockingbird returned, and it seemed that he'd follow me from room to room as I moved about the house. I finally caught him atop the phone pole, near the kitchen window, and when he saw me approaching with the hose, he "Booked." The bird did however retreat to the high trees in the wild area abiove the canyon, where there are no houses or human made structures.
Don't get me wrong. I appreciate the wild creatures that live in Wildcat Canyon, and the surrounding, semi wilderness areas. But to tell you folks the truth, I have never had my sleep interrupted by the quail, small birds, Blue Jays, Woodpeckers, Squirrels, Raccoons, and I make an exception with the Coyotes. I have never lost sleep because of the little, Whitetail deer that roam the hills above the area, either.
Have a safe and wonderful Fourth of July my friends. For the best results, do try to attend Professional fireworks show. No sense setting yourselves, or the world for that matter, on fire.
"Peace."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4vz5iSVoYw
N'Yaaaah!
As an aside, my character "Muse" is also afraid of the bangs, booms and flashes from fireworks. "Goldie" the winged sphinx enjoys flying through fireworks displays. Her "Sisters" Tay and Jazz think she's crazy.
SQEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDEDEDDEdededededededededededeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
I am a day sleeper (headed for bed real soon now) and I often wish I had purchased that AR-15 in 1990, even at 71 I can still hit that bird at 300 yards with one.
As to fireworks, oddly there hasn't been one CRACK this year and this is the third, not to mention that the majority of this neighborhood is Latino , some even legal.
downtown the sparrows would also come near enough to be touched, and only jump out of reach if you try... always hunting for crumbs.
I recommend this method.
*Yes, it's mating related.
I hope you have an enjoyable Independence Day as well.
One late night, many years ago, I was barely drifting off to sleep when I heard the unmistakable sound of a Roof Rat gnawing at the wood frame of the window across the room from me. Suddenly the scraping stopped, and there was the sound of the rodent screeching, followed by the shriek of an owl. Now I LIKE Owls.
the geese also sometimes speak up in the middle of the night. especially since a little paved road goes nearby which is illuminated.
there are also sometimes, or rather rarely, hedgehogs or martens (I hope no rats?) making use of the food containers we put into that typical german "yellow bag" (part of the "green dot" recycling system. no, it does not make sense.), since said bags are thin as paper.
a few weeks ago somewhere in the general vicinity two martens had a fight. from the noises of it, one of them ended up being second... I haven't heard of any corpses from the neighbours, so I guess number two survived, or it happened at the other meadow which is rarely used...
they did find out why the ferrets and martens tend to eat up a car's engine room installments. they would seek out a vehicle at night and view it as cave, and thus, "territory". now, next day the car is moved and ends up somewhere else, even in the next marten's area. marten climbs in and finds evidence of an intruder, and escalades. and the cables and soft coolant hoses get the short end of that tantrum...
Oh yes! How Barnyard Fowl can be noisy! Over here some small poultry breeders raise Guinea Hens which cry out loudly at any disturbance. Some say these birds are better than any watching dog.
Heh! "Green Dot" recycling in yellow bags. I try to wash out my food tins and put only paper and cardboard into the recycling bins we use. It helps keep the bear away.
here we say that white domestic geese are also better than watchdogs. more alert, loyal, almost impossible to bribe, and they take care of those pesky snails that eat your salad away. XD
that recycling nonsense called "Duales System Deutschland" on one side, enhances people's will to put recycable stuffs back into the cycle, buit it also leads to foodstuffs packed into more plastic than it needs to, because we, the consumers, already paid for it (in theory). when everything started, there were almost no facilities that could actually recycle plastic yoghurt cups and other food containers, and tourists found these yellow bags on refuse heaps all over the world... it made us aware that trash is actually sold to foreign countries.
"Wildcat Canyon" is a wonderful place name.
This little area with consists of a gully to the South, and "Wildcat Canyon" to the North has become something of a refuge for the native wildlife. We do have a small family of bobcats that show up upon occasion, but I mostly see squirrels, blue jays, pigeons, doves, Red Tailed Hawks, The occasional Turkey Vulture, Lots of Quail, Cottontail rabbits, Mule Deer and of course my "Noisy Neighbors," The local pack of coyotes.