Thursday, June 16, 2011

A NEW BIRD STATION GOES UP & SOME THOUGHTS ON AGING

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TURNED OUT TO BE A DAMP MUSHROOMY KIND OF DAY 

Well, the Squirrels finally succeeded in battering down my plastic 'boot tray' defense wall on the bird station & are free once again to make their 8 foot flying leaps off the Pine tree to the bird feeder again.  My usual first frustrated response was to just give up & take the bird station down.  My second usual  thought was to think, 'no way, I'm not giving up that easy!!!!  So, it was off to my work shop with a new bird station defense plan in mind.  Besides, it was a dreary gray day with light rain showers so I needed a project to focus on.

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WITH OUR WET SEASON THIS YEAR THINGS ARE REALLY GROWING 

For a guy with few carpentry skills I sure have quite a supply of scrap lumber around. It has been saved from when we had our sunroom, roof, deck & carport construction done over the past few years. I was able to gather enough pieces together today without having to measure or cut anything except one small support piece. It is always a bonus when AL doesn’t have to measure or cut anything.
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BEGINNING MY BIRD STATION ASSEMBLY THIS MORNING (NOTE THE CUSTOMARY JC PENNY SHIRT:)) 
By early afternoon the project was assembled, complete with roof & a pine needle stain finish. No fingers or toes were lost in construction, no cuts or scrapes & I don't even remember having to use any bad words.  Mounted my finished bird station creation on the front yard pole, filled 2 feeders with seed & placed them inside.   I use the word 'inside' because this time I put a roof on the place.  Next step is to wait & see how the Squirrels will defeat my design.....& they will defeat my design!!  The ball will then be back in my court to figure out how to plug up the weak spots & fortify the defenses. It is truly a see-saw battle in these Squirrel wars every year.  Some days with Squirrels ya win some & most days ya lose!!
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OF COURSE ALL THE WHILE I AM WORKING ON MY PROJECT I AM BEING CLOSELY WATCHED BY THE ENEMY!!

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THE TWO BIRD FEEDERS CAN BE TAKEN OUT & FILLED PLUS I PUT THE ROOF ON TO PROTECT THE FEEDERS FROM RAIN...HOPING THE LARGE BOARD AT FRONT WILL DETER THE SQUIRRELS THAT COME UP THE POLE....IF NOT I CAN POST A WARNING SIGN ON IT SAYING 'TRESPASSING SQUIRRELS WILL BE PROSECUTED.'  
It is always interesting to me when I read peoples thoughts or reactions to the inevitable age old problem of aging. Interesting to see how some folks seem to be in denial while others accept the fact & deal with it accordingly in a well thought out manner. I can’t speak for anyone else’s thoughts but I find myself at a point of accepted awareness now with my own aging process.
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KELLY TAKES A DEER PARK LODGE RESERVATION WHILE THE MOTORMOUSE KEEPS A CLOSE EYE ON A NEARBY CHIPMUNK  
I think one of the keys to successful aging is learning to adjust, understand, & accept the fact that ‘yes’ things are changing. Knowing my body is not that of a younger man anymore is key to knowing my physical limitations. The same applies for my mind. As frustrating as it is at times & despite my stubborn denial at other times I have to also accept the fact my mind does not necessarily approach life’s challenges the way it once did, nor can it handle them the same way it once did. Easily solvable problems sometimes appear difficult & the brain has to rewire itself to work around them & approach things with a different way of thinking. Understanding some instruction manuals has become a real challenge in itself & that’s where I have run into problems with a lot of the new age techno stuff, so I have a tendency to avoid it. My days are much less frustrating that way.
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A RED WINGED BLACKBIRD IS THE FIRST TO STOP BY & TRY OUT THE NEW BIRD STATION  
It is the daily conflict between that youthful energetic young man who lives within myself & the aging older fella who also resides here. The young man becomes impatient with the older man’s slower ways & is harsh in his criticism of the older man’s forgetfulness & sometimes challenged learning abilities. With the enlightenment & experience of many years, the older man understands the younger man’s impatience & can only hope that acceptance & understanding will soon be a part of the younger fellas personality too.  After all, these two guys have to live together in some kind of a friendly working relationship. 
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THE MUSHROOM GENERALS GATHERING TOGETHER THE MUSHROOM TROOPS 
Strange how my mind has instant recall on any one of the countless thousands of photographs I have taken over the past 50 years but yet my brain won’t tell me where I have just set a pair of scissors down 5 minutes ago. That short term memory loss is particularly brutal if I am at the computer trying to learn a new program or working on resolving a technical problem. The brain just seems to bog down in a mass of befuddlement. Remembering to return emails & answer comment questions is proving to be a real challenge.  But, ask me about a piece of history, a period of my life many years ago, past people's names or the titles of many music pieces including songs & singers & I may very well have a recollection for you.
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CUTE LITTLE GUYS THESE MEANDERING MUSHROOMS ARE 
Here’s an example of one of those things that annoys me. I can be working away in the flower garden at something & decide I need the garden rake. Probably not knowing where the garden rake is I set off to find it, but half way to wherever it was I was going I suddenly can’t remember what it was I was looking for. I then have to retrace my steps back to the flower bed & re-enact what I was doing in order to spark that very same thought process again.  I know things are not as they once were, but I am becoming aware of how important it is to roll with the changes, cut myself some slack & be open minded & aware of this thing they call aging.....10-4:))

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A COMMON GRACKLE STOPS BY THE NEW DIGS FOR A BEAK FULL OF PEANUTS 

GROANER'S CORNER:((

A workman was killed at a construction site. The police began questioning a number of the other workers. Based with past brushes with the law, many of these workers were considered prime suspects. They were a motley crew:

The electrician was suspected of wiretapping once but was never charged.

The carpenter thought he was a stud. He tried to frame another man one time.

The glazier went to great panes to conceal his past. He still claims that he didn't do anything; that he was framed.

The painter had a brush with the law several years ago.

The heating, ventilation and air conditioning contractor was known to pack heat. He was arrested once but duct the charges.

The mason was suspect because he gets stoned regularly.

The cabinet maker is an accomplished counter fitter.

The autopsy led the police to arrest the carpenter, who subsequently confessed. The evidence against him was irrefutable, because it was found that the workman, when he died, was hammered.

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The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right
now...... AL.

17 comments:

  1. I sure agree with what you said on aging. Sometimes I get so frustrated when instructions aren't easily understood by me, or a piece of technology is not worth to me the trouble of figuring it out. My only defense is to make light of it all and joke about how the aging process has affected me. I don't like it one bit, though.

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  2. Al, you are not alone with that aging thing. I just had a birthday today, yipee NOT. Anyhow, I do that all the time..go downstairs to get something, get all the way down there and poof, it's gone. Now what the heck did I want?? March all the way back upstairs to the spot I first thought of it. Poof, yes I know now, back down I go. Hopefully I remember this time what I'm here for.

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  3. I, too, am finding it easier to just not try to learn all this new stuff. At least that way I don't end up so frustrated and eating myself into oblivion. My Dad always said that getting old was not for the faint of heart. How true that is.

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  4. You are good at putting into words what many of us are feeling about the aging process. It is frustrating at times, but I sure don't like the alternative! :)

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  5. a day above ground is way better than the alternative!..nice work on the squirrel preventer!!

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  6. I couldn't remember what I was doing when I was seven. Not much has changed. Forgetting what you walked into a room for, is a natural thing, but I can't remember why.

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  7. Good thoughts on aging, since it is unavoidable, it just makes sense to accept the the process. Having said that, I also think it is good to keep expecting more from ourselves to avoid turning acceptance into a surrender attitude.

    It looks like Judy and you are approaching a full scale battle with the squirrels. I have to admit all my battles with them ended in defeat, but I enjoyed watching them the few times I had them on the ropes, at least for awhile:)

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  8. Both my husband and I can relate, but as my Dad always said,"It's got the alternative beat."
    I don't have a blog, but I really enjoy reading others, yours included. We aren't full timers, but do take frequent RV trips of 2 or 3 month duration.
    Elaine in Saltair Vancouver Island BC.

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  9. My long term memory is the only thing that has saved my bacon when it comes to speaking German, (well, and French, but we haven't been to France in a while) which I was all done learning by the early part of 1980. Never did another blessed thing with it, but enough of it stuck with me to form a pretty good basis for adding a few words now and again. Still not that easy to learn new stuff though I find. Goes in, rattles around, gets lost in there somewhere, then I end up looking up the word all over again. *sigh*
    Like they say, "Getting old ain't for sissies."
    Hint. Keep a good supply of "post-it" notes! I don't quite use them as wall paper just yet, but if it's really important, I need to write it down, and stick it up in plain view. Just going through the motions of writing it down and sticking it up seems to help.
    Your mileage may vary.

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  10. I agree with you 100%.... It is frustrating but you must adjust!!! It makes life so much easier~
    Have fun
    Donna

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  11. You said about the same thing as I did on my Sunday Blog,,,but you said it better. Right on. I love these 50'something people that know all about it.... Ya Ya ,,,Well on June the twody tooth,(22) I will be 76. I have leared more in the last 2-3 years about ageing than I had in my entire life. I have no parents. no brothers or sisters. They and all my uncles and aunts have died. Two of my 3 son's are even gone....
    Now I believe I can relate... But just maybe. I have a feeling I may not have seen anything YET!!
    If Ms Pat goes, I go!!

    Hey, now thats a NEAT Bird Station,,and you say your not a carpenter?? Looks GREAT!

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  12. I felt young again on Tuesday when I went to my heart doctor. I am 66 and can walk and get around pretty good. The other people in the office were in their 70s and 80s using walkers, carrying oxygen tanks, and having people push them.

    I left the office feeling 10 years younger but it did not last long.

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  13. You know the saying goes "measure twice, cut once", but when I do it, it's more like, "measure twice, cut once, oops, cut again, oops, maybe I can glue a piece on the end!"

    As to the "flying squirrels"....perhaps a big, free standing net would keep them from reaching the feeder, but would not be stable enough for them to launch themselves for another go at it. Might make the yard look like an old shipyard, or something, so you'd probably have to paint it green.

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  14. Nice bird feeding station. I find it funny that when man matches wits with a squirrel, the squirrel often wins!!

    The older I get the more I think about the hereafter...seems like every time I enter a room I wonder, "what am I here after?"

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  15. Thanks for the picture of the red-winged black bird! We saw these pretty little creatures on our trip from WA to MI all over the Mid-West...we were wondering what they were named. Sure enjoy your blog!

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  16. I did find the perfect squirrel proof bird feeder! Here is a link to my post on my blog with pictures of it. It sure was a hoot watching the first squirrel try and get seed out of this bird feeder. They learned fast that they were defeated and now don't even try to get at the seed. The only seed they get is what's dropped on the ground from the birds.
    Here is the link: http://flintstones19702.blogspot.com/2011/05/perfect-bird-feeder.html

    Good luck with your battle!

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  17. Great feeding station you built there. I might have to try making one with some spare wood I have. Thanks for the idea.

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