(As an aside did you know that nijer seed comes from India and Ethiopia and currently there is a shortage of it which is causing shortages and rising prices? Is there any other use for nijer seeds except for middle class Westerners to use to feed finches? Since our Mimosa tree is also from Ethiopia we have an interesting connection between the tree and the seeds in the feeder hanging from it)
Back to the war. This ruthless creature figured out how to attack Mary's deluxe dual sock, feeds twice as many - no waiting! finch feeder and loot it of the precious nijer seeds. It managed to shinny down the cord that holds it from the tree limb above and somehow dangle down to chew a hole in one of the socks and suck out the seeds. I was willing previously for the tree rat to have a portion of the seeds but destroying private property is the last straw. If we didn't live in such a populated area a single .22 bullet would end the furry corsair's depredations but the law and my liberal neighbors would probably be upset by gun play in the backyard. So, being a Field Grade officer I applied my technical training and years of experience to devise a method to keep the enemy at bay.
The device is simple in conception and elegant in execution. A pie plate, suitably pierced to allow the cord for the feeder is fixed at a precise point calculated to deflect the furry tree rat's efforts to land on the domed top of the feeder. Almost a week has passed and not a single successful assault of the finch feeder. Victory! Click on the picture for a better image.
Now that my knee surgery is about a month past I'm riding my bike more and glad I'm doing so. I really lost a lot of strength in the injured knee and a lot of my wind is gone too. I'm huffing and puffing going up hills on the bike and being passed by every other cyclist wherever I ride. Time to get back into shape! The surgeon pronounced me good to go this past Monday and told me to keep up the exercise which I will.
I found this video on youtube made by a Navy Hawkeye air squadron. It is a lot of fun to watch. Check out their other lip-sync videos too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMMceEx72sE&feature=PlayList&p=CB91AB945C7C382E&index=4
More later!
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Very clever idea to protect your (or is it the finches?) personal property. I saw a Mourning Dove on the wall in the background-I just love them. We have a pair that hangs out on our roof sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI am about to write about something very similar on my blog. My poor Moxie can get no rest until every squirrel and bird that visits our yard is destroyed. And I'm sure you can imagine how well that is working out for her. Today she set up camp underneath the bird feeder and refused to even come in for dinner until she was forced.
I'm glad you are officially cleared for exercise! I have been running pretty regularly over the last few weeks and am huffing and puffing just as much as ever, sadly. Soon you will be the one passing everyone else!
Good job on the squirrel foiler. Maybe you can sell it and make a profit! I remember when you used to put vasaline on the bird feeder pole to keep the squirrels off. I also seem to recall that it didn't work.
ReplyDeleteI liked the Navy video. Very enjoyable. Did you see the guy in the briefing room wearing the funny hats? I can't imagine landing an aircraft on such a small runway in the dark like that! Good editing, too.