Immeasurable joy?
I think so.
I’ve taken to feeding the birds pretty much all my adult life, which means, among other things, that I’ve probably spent two or three preposterous piles of money on seed, suet, and feeders through the years. It’s okay.
Really, when it comes down to it, is there something I’d rather have spent my (our) hard-earned money on? Sure, I’d like to be able to send the girls to college, but I don’t think this bird-feeding hobby will make or break our ability to do that when the time comes.
When our local pet supply shop has them in stock, I buy five-pound bags of unsalted peanuts, ostensibly for the blue jays that I know love them. What usually happens, though, is that the blue jays miss out. Other creatures can also smell the peanuts from a mile away.
I don’t mind feeding the squirrels; they need to eat, too, and they’re a hoot to watch, but it’s days like yesterday that really bring a smile to my face and to my heart. Within moments of putting out a heap of peanuts on the sundial in our backyard, the blue jays started arriving.
They seem ideally suited to grab the peanuts with their long beaks, and to break them open on a tree branch later as well. I mention that because The Wife mused aloud yesterday that Lansing’s blue jays probably shouldn’t have inherent knowledge of peanuts. Momentarily forgetting what I learned in the botany classes I never took, I replied with this stunning sort-of-factual statement:
“Yeah, there really aren’t many peanut trees in Michigan.”
“Especially since peanuts grow in the soil, not in trees. Sid.” The Wife didn’t really try to mask any of the scoffing in her voice when she reminded me of that little detail.
“Oh. Right.”
Hey, I grew up in the city.
It doesn’t take more than a moment to determine if a peanut is the “right” one. If it isn’t, the blue jays aren’t afraid to reject it in favor of another.
Of course, it’s not only the squirrels and blue jays that enjoy a good peanut.
Whoever it is that I end up feeding, it’s a warm and happy feeling to watch them. Yesterday was a real winter day here in Lansing – snow and wind and cold and the whole winter schmeel. Seeing the local creatures flock to our backyard and get some much-needed food for energy and sustenance is a joyful thing for us – good for their bodies and good for our souls/hearts/minds.
About that snow and cold? It didn’t miraculously vanish just prior to me taking these pictures. These are all oldish photos from the Dunnebacke Archives (which looks a lot like an external hard drive) - none of them taken yesterday. Not that I didn’t make the attempt yesterday, however unfruitful (grumble).
I think I added, “You know. Like potatoes.” What he didn’t hear was me thinking, “Maybe he’s just now finding out about potatoes, too.”
Love you, DadKnows.
December 27, 2012 at 9:08 pm
Oh, I see. Have a little fun with The Husband, eh? Well, I remember my field trip to the potato factory back in 2nd grade, and I know that they make potatoes by smashing together potato chips.
In the ground. As if. Pfft.
December 27, 2012 at 10:42 pm
I love feeding squirrels too and chipmunks. Tell your wife I grew up in MI and my husband did too and his dad grows a few peanuts every year. Your bluejay must be from Ida, MI. He does indeed grow them in the ground.
December 27, 2012 at 9:12 pm
Ha! I would have lost that bet, Abbie. I won’t say anything like “you grow-potatoes-in-the-ground types are freaks”. Happy Christmas to you all, by the way!
December 27, 2012 at 11:05 pm
And A Happy New Year To YOU ALL!
December 28, 2012 at 1:58 pm
That’s as close as I get to actually saying “y’all” – and I wouldn’t even say that to most of my pals here! Anyway – glad you got it.
January 4, 2013 at 11:28 pm
That is a funny conversation
You have wonderful visitors to your bird feeder. I’m a bit jealous; our Eurasian Jays do have nice colours, but still they aren’t as fashionably blue as yours. I drew our European Jay’s some time ago, here: http://mindfuldrawing.com/2011/04/29/jays-in-their-habitat/
We have no chipmunks either!
Right now the only visitor we have to our bird-feeding station is a poor Blackbird with one deformed leg. We give him extra food and have named him ‘One Leg’. We hope somebody will come up with a better, kinder and more respectful name.
I totally agree with your spending behaviour on bird food. We owe our birds a lot because we have taken so much of their natural environment away. Another reason is less altruistic: bird watching is endless fun.
December 28, 2012 at 4:56 am
Paula, your drawing of the Jays and the viper is beautiful – so full of life, as usual. They’re maybe not as blue as our backyard visitors, but are pretty birds all the same. We do owe the birds a lot, I agree – and watching them is definitely entertainment.
I’ll give some thought to a nicer name for your blackbird friend!
January 2, 2013 at 7:35 am
I have never calculated what deer feed, deer corn (which isn’t just for deer), suet, bird seed and various nuts cost us each year. We chalk it up to entertainment, since we don’t go out much. I loved your photos! I can get completely side-tracked with the camera. Animal antics are the best entertainment around.
Oklahoma is one of the peanut producing states. I had never seen peanuts or cotton harvested until I moved here 23 years ago. I found the whole process fascinating. I had my first boiled peanuts just a couple of years ago. It sounds gross but boiled peanuts are WONDERFUL!!
December 28, 2012 at 10:09 pm
You’re right, Lori – boiled peanuts sounds awful. We share your philosophy about feeding the animals being entertainment. There’s no end to the fun if we’re willing to spend some time just watching.
January 2, 2013 at 7:39 am
Yuck, we part on that one sundog – they are MUSHY .
January 2, 2013 at 11:41 am
SE Virginia used to grow peanuts then the farm subsidies changed that to cotton.
December 29, 2012 at 7:27 pm
I sense there’s more to that comment than you’re letting on, Louis…
January 4, 2013 at 10:33 pm
I don’t really understand the politics of that issue, Sid. It just seems to me that whatever grows well in a geographic area should be grown there. SE VA was once famous for its p-nuts now most are grown in Georgia for the commercial market. In my opinion, the VA p-nuts were a superior product.
January 5, 2013 at 10:42 am
That bird is GORGEOUS!
December 30, 2012 at 6:33 am
They really are, Dianda, although they don’t have a similarly pretty song – they’re pretty squawky. But still lovely birds.
January 4, 2013 at 10:34 pm
I’ve never seen such a beautiful bird before.
January 5, 2013 at 5:47 am
“Immeasurable Joy” really is the perfect title for your post, Sid! You can’t put a price tag on feeding God’s little creatures, it’s the least one can do for for all the joy they bring to us all year ’round. Excellent post!
December 31, 2012 at 4:27 am
Agreed, gl!
January 2, 2013 at 7:40 am
Hi Sid,
thank you for becoming a good friend in this community and for reading my blog
I wish you all the best in the New Year, and most importantly to have a wealth of things you cannot buy!
Yulia
December 31, 2012 at 10:06 am
Always a pleasure, Yulia. Since I can’t imagine a more nicely-worded wish for the new year, I’ll hope for the same for you.
January 2, 2013 at 7:42 am
January 4, 2013 at 11:17 pm
SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
How did I manage to miss this post? That bluejay is gorgeous. And I thought my azulejos were beautiful…
I can’t find unsalted peanuts around here anymore. I guess I’ll have to go to one of those healthy granola stores. I miss feeding the squirrels and chipmunks
January 3, 2013 at 10:28 pm
and you have a sundial in your backyard? That’s it. It’s official now. I hate you!
January 3, 2013 at 10:29 pm
Bwahahahaha! The unofficiality of that was bothering me anyway.
The blue jays are gorgeous for sure, but so are your azulejos. Really, though – every bird is gorgeous when it comes down to it (you had to know that was coming).
January 4, 2013 at 10:37 pm
he he
Yes, they are. Just like cats too.
January 5, 2013 at 2:16 pm
I’ve fed the birds for many a year. We don’t get much in the way of mammals except squirrels, maybe the occasional mouse. The biggest problem we have are the wood pigeons that seem to vacuum up all the seed that is put out, leaving little for the smaller song birds. As you might expect, winter time is the prime time for birds as their wild food is in such short supply.
January 12, 2013 at 6:59 pm
It’s much the same here, Stephen. For you it’s wood pigeons, for us it’s house sparrows. They need to eat, too, though, so I don’t begrudge them anything. I’m thinking we have more mammalian visitors to our yard than we know – mice in the garage, possums in the gardens, probably a raccoon or two as well.
January 16, 2013 at 10:28 am
Problem with wood pigeons is their size and volume of feed they guzzle. If I was had more of a man about me I’d devise a trap, wring their necks and have them for supper. The local farmer shoots them – a 100 at a session every so often, he takes them away in huge hessian sacks.
January 17, 2013 at 7:19 am