I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles – Anne Frank, German diarist (1929-1945)
Sunsets are proof that endings can often be beautiful, too – Beau Taplin, Australian poet (1988- )
The hummingbird feeders are still hanging on the front and back porch. The hummingbirds are long gone, and I should remove the hummingbird feeders. The sunshine lights up the red glass and looks so beautiful it’s hard to let them go. There’s always next year. Sometime this week I will empty the sugar water the hummers enjoyed daily; I’ll wash and clean out the glass and pack them away for another season. In the meantime, I’m looking out the window where a variety of birds are feeding from the birdfeeders. A large amount of seed goes directly to the ground, but something will feed on the scattered seed as well. After feeding, the birds gather at the water trays.
There’s one birdbath, and the other two I call “water trays.” Water trays are Terra Cotta clay saucers placed on top of a Terra Cotta clay pot. It works out well for the birds. They don’t just drink the water, but they bathe there as well. It is a communal bath with tufted titmouse, Eastern bluebirds, Bluejays, Carolina chickadees, wrens and sparrows and more. The Blue Jay is so much larger than the others that it often splashes all the water out of the trays, and they must be filled again. At this moment there are so many birds fitting around I can’t count them all. It brings me much pleasure to watch the birds from the sunroom window.
We had another little creature visit us last week. Our recycle bags hang on the wall on the back porch where we recycle paper, plastics, and cans. We have creatures delve into bags occasionally but not often. This little critter pulled out a plastic peanut butter jar with the top fastened. There was little to no peanut butter inside, but he must have smelled peanut butter. Other bags were torn but nothing the little fellow was interested in.
Once a critter finds the bags, they will continue to visit so we put out our no-kill trap with some goodies inside. I save chicken bones and other goodies in the freezer labeled for bait. The chicken was warmed in the microwave and ready to go. The next day there was a possum reclining in the trap. I thought it was little, but Sam thought it was not so little. Our possum slept until almost sundown.
Sam returned home from a good fishing day. We loaded the possum on the Gator and rode him away from the house, across the field and lake, on to the woods where he could find a good home. The trap was opened, and the possum was on his way.
We sat there awhile watching the sunset. Two eagles made flights circling the lake for a while then disappeared over the tree line. Down by the spillway an adult deer and a young deer eased out from the woods to the water. No doubt they could see us. Deer have amazing eyesight. It truly is a beautiful world.
Shannon Bardwell is a writer living quietly in the Prairie. Email reaches her at [email protected].
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
