I have a group of resident birds who frequent a feeder that hangs from my side porch. I love watching them from my kitchen window. Last night I had to put the bird feeders away because of the anticipated wind and this morning the birds were confused. They'd fly to the porch from their perches in the nearby chestnut oak, expecting to find the feeder. Their eyesight must not be very good, for they only realized that it wasn't there when they reached where it normally hangs. Then they'd fly a u-turn, back to the tree. I watched this over and over again and decided I had to do something. First I put a plate of seed out on the floor of the porch, but it was quickly floating in water. Then I put the seed in a colander, only to realize that the birds would have difficulty getting to it. So I took a grill skillet, turned it upside down, and put seed on it. The birds were happy. They lingered on the porch, where they were somewhat protected from the rain. And the skillet was heavy enough and low enough not to blow away.
Though Irene will be saying good-bye to me later tonight, she'll be traveling up the coast, placing others and their property in great danger. I pray for safety for all of those in her path.
12 comments:
It's wonderful to hear you've come through the hurricane relatively unscathed. Thank goodness you and yours are safe and it sounds as if there's not too much damage to your place.
Having come through Cyclone Yasi with a rating of 5, the highest for a cyclone, I know how scary it all is. The winds here reached around 130 km an hour. It sounded like we were in the midst of a runway full of jet planes just reving up their engines!
Hopefully the cleaning up around the yard won't be too big a job, and it's great to hear you only lost power for a few hours. Those poor birds certainly must have appreciated your efforts in feeding them.
So glad you had no major damage to your home and property. Hope your clean up is minimal.
We went through three hurricanes in 16-18 months, Wilma was the last one and her winds were 110mph as she blasted across the state. We went through our first eye with her. Clean up from those hurricanes was tiring and depressing. With Wilma, we lost power for 13 days and had a tree come down into our of our little buildings. Going through something like that makes you appreciate all your blessings, small and large.
Wishing you and yours a nice weekend.
FlowerLady
Ginny, it's great to hear that you weathered the storm so well and are already back to full power and blogging again. Glad you're all safe and sound.
Those are some bedraggled-looking birds, poor things. I wonder if they rely on really strong spatial memories or some other sixth sense when they're feeding, to become so confused at the last minute like that. They certainly were pleased with your clever solution.
Best wishes for a quiet night tonight and an easy cleanup tomorrow.
Ginny,
Glad you did not get bad damage today. The video looks a lot like what we saw here in Durham, but we were lucky if we got 1/4 inch of rain. I went to Hillsborough and while getting gas a 3 ft BP sign exploded next to my car, must have been on the roof or something.
So glad you are safe and sound. How sweet of you to care for the birds that way!!
Thinking of the birds during a hurricane, how kind of you! Watched the video, those are some really tall trees. I'm glad there was no significant damage and you're safe!
Ginny,glad you came through unscathed, and you managed to think of the garden birds. We generally don't get these extreme weather conditions here. I will be thinking of those further north from you.
Wonderful idea for the feeder! I'm so glad you're safe and sound. Irene brought us some much needed rain but none of trees fell.
So glad that you made it through the storm! How sweet of you to take care of the birds too! I am sure that the much needed rain is welcome and the plants are happy.
Ginny I was worried especially with you surrounded by all those trees. So happy to see you made it through unscathed. Irene is visiting us today with only wind gusts to 30mph and hard rain all day since 4 am. I hope she leaves by this evening. I was so surprised to see her come this far N and W in NY.
Those trees do look like they could do some damage! Glad to hear they and you came through the storm fine - and the birds, too!
That's so nice of you to be thinking of the birdies at a time like that.
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