THE BIRD BISTRO

Ever since I hung that bird feeder on a branch of the crab apple in our backyard, the tree became a  sort of Bird Bistro. Every minute of the day  there are always the noisy brown birds enjoying some snacks on the portable "restaurant."

The feeder can only accommodate four "diners" so many would be waiting on the branches waiting for a bird to leave voluntarily or involuntarily. Thus there is always bird "music" in my backyard now when the it is not raining.

Once in a while two cardinals with gorgeous red plummage would come and check out what's going on. But they do not stay very long. I have also seen small yellow birds ( orioles?) some red breasted robins and lots of ghastly looking crows.

Mind you, the feeder is only made for small birds. But once in a while some crows would come and try to mooch. These black feathered "fiends" ( they are not very friendly to the brown birds ) would shoo away the small ones just to get their spot.

Occasionally, two squirrels would creep up the branches and try to help themselves. But only when I am not there. Otherwise, as soon as I see them creep into my yard heading towards the tree, I would run towards them and they would scamper to the bushes with their tails twitching madly.

I hate those guys. They look like big rats. I think they belong to the same family. And during the bulb planting season, they would dig up the bulbs as fast as you would plant them.

They are lucky they are protected by law. When I was in San Diego with Archie M. , I visited a friend of his. He has also a big backyard. We share the same loathing for the pesky squirrels. He said:

" You know I sometimes use them for target practice!" He uses a BB gun and being in the Navy one time, he was a good marksman.

"I never missed one yet," he said. " As soon as one drops to the ground, I would wait for about 15 minutes, then go about, pick it up hastily with a plastic grocery bag and dump it into the bin"

 

It reminds me about a Columbo (Peter Falk ) episode. He crashed into a party prior to questioning one of the guests. The host told him to help himself to the chili con carne. Knowing Columbo, he was one guy who does not say No when it comes togrub. After finishing a bowl of the delicacy, he asked the host..

"Hmmm, that was delicious!" he said. ""What meat did you use?"

The host answered: "Squirrel..."

Columbo just answered "Oh.."---#