December 15, 2007

IF YOU BUILD IT,THEY WILL COME

Originally PUBLISHED April 12, 2006

When I put up my bird feeders this year, I barely managed to walk away before the flocks descended on them. I saw lots of sparrows and some kind of powder-blue birds stuffing themselves out there, along with some cardinals and a few skanky-looking blackbirds. The doves weren't far behind, combing the ground under the feeders for spilled seed. That didn't take long.

But I didn't see any hummingbirds. I put up four hummer feeders and filled them with nectar, but nobody came to my party. Not one single hummingbird. I was a little bit disappointed by that fact, because I KNOW that Effingham County is FULL of hummingbirds during warm weather. I thought that maybe I put the feeders up too soon--- we've had a couple of chilly nights recently.

I guess I was wrong. I saw two hummingbirds feeding this morning and I think they must live nearby, because they keep coming back every hour or so. I think they are a "married" couple. One is a small, almost plain-looking female and the other is a big (for a hummer anyway) male with irridescent green feathers and a brilliant ruby throat.

If those two found my feeders, others will come. I really do like watching those little birds flying around like jet fighters. If I get a couple of more visitors, I'll be able to see some good, aggressive aerial combat out there. Hummers are fearless little fuckers and they'll fight each other over a feeder. That show is great entertainment.

I saw no fresh dog-paw prints in my garden this morning, so I don't need to load up the pellet gun and shoot a dog yet. Not YET. One of my neighbors is turning a beagle loose every morning to roam around and shit in somebody else's yard, and I suspect that THAT'S the dog that stomped all over my okra and banana pepper plants.

If that's so, his time is gonna come, unless I find out who owns the dog so that I can talk to them before I make their darling pet do the stinging-ass dance in my garden.

Speaking of the garden, my corn and beans are sprouting and the tomatoes and squash are taking off quite robustly. Other than the dog, the only problem I see is a proliferation of weeds in what always has been bare soil. See how "delicate" Mother Nature is? Throw some fertilizer on bare ground and just stand back. Something is gonna grow there, and in this case it's something I don't want.

Oh well. I've always said that gardening is a lot of work, and those weeds are just like the birds flocking to me feeders. They prove that if you build it, they will come.