Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Ragweed Woes & Woodpecker Wanderings

Ragweed - it's everywhere. For some reason it exploded in my flower beds this year, and you just can't get rid of the crap. Maybe it's the weather we've had, maybe its finally gotten the army coordinated enough to swallow the world. Obviously, its harassed the Goldenrod to fall into flank behind. I don't really mind the Goldenrod so much. It doesn't have nasty pollen, though that myth is well circulated, and it is kinda pretty.

I have a beautiful woodpecker that visits daily, but let me explain the visit; It consists of him first checking the bird feeder D made attatched to the side of the house beside the sliding glass door. Now, there better be something good in there for him or I'm going to hear about it! If he finds nothing to his liking, it's straight to the living room window to hang on the screen, give me a good view of his butt and stare at me for some length of time. (And I'm glad I can't speak bird because I'm betting he's getting out a long string of bird-cuss). If this doesn't produce my attention, well, maybe some banging on the window sill will!

D realized the other day that he's begun to bring friends, and lots of them! I must have at least 5 different species hanging on my half-maple every day now. Absolutely wonderful to watch, but God forbid he ever teach them the 'screen hang-and-moon' technique!

The really bizarre thing is that the purple finches and chickadees will not come near the feeders if the woodpeckers are hanging out. Maybe the red headed repeated some rude gossip.

On a way off subject: I was hanging out at UKBob's and something he wrote reminded me of the Fuller Brush Man. Do you remember him? No? Don't want to admit your age, eh? ;)
I remember my grandmother buying all sorts off cool things from his magic case. It seemed he could pack anything in that sucker! And the Charlie Chip Man! (you can actually still order Charlie Chips from the net!) I simply adored those tins, and the chips weren't too darn bad either. I haven't thought about either of those door to doorers in years. Thanks for bringing the memories back Bob! Ah, the good old days.

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4 comments:

Sissy said...

How wonderful to have woodpeckers!! All we get is finches and the gold ones are gone for the winter, I guess. We used to have 10 or 20 of them in the front feeder!
I enjoy UKBob's blog, too!!

Colleen Vanderlinden said...

Hi Tina,

I love woodpeckers...never had one moon me, though :-)

We have a lot of sparrows and mourning doves right now, although pretty soon our cardinals will start showing up again. I can't wait!

Tina said...

Sissy,
The woodpeckers are amazing things to watch, and I'm so glad they're here. Just wait, you may end up with more birdlife this winter than you expected!

Fuller, well, congrats to you! I dunno, ordering the stuff over the internet just wouldn't have the same mystique for me. I want to see the 'magic case'! lol.

Coleen,
cardinals?! You lucky girl! I get to see one or two each winter--I'm on the flight path to the neighbors feeder. lol.

Charley "Apple" Grabowski said...

I haven't thought of Charles Chips in years! We always got the chocolate chip cookies. I bet my mom still has a tin or two tucked away somewhere.