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| One of my flower beds needs a bit of weeding and a lot of water. |
I am spending my early mornings weeding my flower beds. O.K., let's be honest, I'm weeding the flower beds for me and my flowers - but my neighbor should benefit from this. I'm also replacing my old bird feeder. And, yes, I realize this probably benefits the birds and squirrels more than my neighbor, but it does make the side yard look 'happy' with all the wildlife roaming or flying about.
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| Birdfeeders in February |
And until her house sells, I promise not to grease the pole the bird feeder is on. It's a cheap thrill, spraying the pole with Pam and watching the squirrels jump up and start to climb. They sort of stay in place, with their paws moving frantically - like Fred Flintstone's feet just before his car moves - and then with one last effort they'll throw themselves against the pole and hang on as tight as they can... and that's when they slide down to the ground. Like I said it's a cheap thrill. It gives me and the squirrels something to do. I don't think the squirrels care for this trick and once again they have made it to the feeder and have eaten through the cord that holds the top in place.
My original bird feeder was a gift. Homemade, wooden and cute, it took the squirrels a little over a year to eat through the wood and destroy the feeder. So I bought a plastic bird feeder. The first one was large, some days there would be four or five doves on it. It was a little bit creepy - they were all over the place waiting for their turn. I now have trouble associating the words peaceful and dove.
By the time the squirrels destroyed that feeder I knew to go with something smaller. The next feeder I bought was destroyed in just a few weeks, so my husband used two bungee cords, one green, one yellow, to hold the top on. I just left it like that (why waste money when the squirrels will just keep ruining the feeders?). When anyone asked about it I told them I was going through a redneck phase. We quickly noticed the squirrels thought little of this arrangement. The cords started to get a fuzzy look. We began to find bits of green and yellow nylon in the grass. One morning, as I looked out over my kingdom, I noticed the top off the feeder and only one cord barely hanging on. I went out to check on things and there, next to the pole, was the little yellow bungee cord, shredded. One of the hooks was missing - it was found in the yard a month or so later. I bought another feeder, making sure I liked it with or without the top.
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| Doves guarding the topless feeder. |
Now with all this work I'm doing for my neighbor I have to confess I've asked a favor of her. I want more good neighbors. So I have come up with a little test to see who can live next door to me. I have asked my wonderful neighbor not to paint her foyer. It's a bold red, very nice. I know, all the decorating shows tell you to tone it down, paint it a neutral color so the potential buyers can visualize themselves living there. But I don't want a new neighbor too stupid to see past the red paint (if it turns out they don't like the color). "This foyer has red walls, I can't live here." That's right - you can't. I want to know that my new neighbors have vision. Maybe I should get the Pam out, I want them to have a sense of humor, too.
