A GREAT WEATHER DAY FOR SOME FRONT YARD PROJECTS

CANADA GOOSE TOUCHDOWN ON THE POND ACROSS THE ROAD 

First thing I saw looking out our sunroom window this morning was my bird station platform on the ground complete with a Squirrel sitting on top of it.  And yes, I have the picture to prove that too!!  So disappointing but for some reason I did not think the Squirrels could have done that & upon further inspection I soon began to suspect another culprit!!

DESPITE THIS INCRIMINATING PHOTO I DO NOT THINK THE SQUIRREL DID IT.........

Turned out to be a beautiful sunny day & my first thoughts were for a Motorcycle this morning, but it wasn't to be.  Took little Cora for a walk but she wasn't keen on going far so we were back home again shortly after we left.  First piece of business was to determine who or what had knocked the bird station down.  Wasn't long & I had a couple good clues & one good theory.

 

I had placed that bird station in an area where no Squirrels could climb nearby shrubs or trees & then leap upon the platform.  Also knew a Squirrel could not get on the platform from climbing the pole & didn't figure they could tip the platform with brute force even though it wasn't fastened down.  My first clue came when I closely inspected the pole itself & sure enough there it was, claw marks spaced much wider than a Squirrel.  Second clue came minutes later when I saw some scat on the ground that was definitely not from a dog.  The fact this was done at night plus the fact that some of the other birdfeeder damage was done in the darkened hours as well gave me a theory..............RACCOON!!

<<< BOTH OF THESE BIRD FEEDERS HAVE SO FAR TURNED OUT TO BE SQUIRREL PROOF:))

Along with the birdfeeders I had hung a couple suet cages up a few weeks ago as well.  One of those cages went missing the very first night & I still haven't found it.  The second cage ended up on the ground one morning last week still closed but no suet inside.  Thought that odd until today when I factored the Raccoon theory in.

AM HOPING THIS RECONSTRUCTED BIRD FEEDING STATION IS GOING TO WORK

So, instead of a nice bike ride through the countryside this morning I was busy putting the bird station back together.  Shortened the pole, stained the platform pieces & securely screwed & fastened the platform to the post.  Do I think I'll find the whole works on the ground again??  Oh probably!!

While putting the feeder back together I decided to carry on with some more revamping of our front yard.  Grass does not grow well here in the shadows of the Pine forest.  Despite completely sodding our front yard about 4 years ago the ever invasive moss has creeped in & pretty much taken over my nice sodding effort.  My idea the last couple years has been to gradually turn more of our grassy moss area into flower beds.  And, I have another ulterior motive for doing that!!

CHANGING OUR GARDEN LANDSCAPING AGAIN 

I absolutely hate small gasoline engines.  I have been at war with those fume belching, ear splitting foul running contraptions for just about as long as I can remember.  Lawn mowers, chain saws, weed whackers, roto tillers & the list goes on.  I think my right arm is two feet longer than my left just from yanking on ropes to start gas engines year after year.  Figure if I can eliminate most of our grass I can go back to using a quiet & simple push mower which I have always preferred anyway & that's what I intend to do from here on in.

 

I know small gasoline engines produce more power & torque than than their electric counterparts & do the job quicker but I have been slowly switching over to electric stuff.  If for no other reason than to at least eliminate the noise.  Noise has become my arch enemy over the last few years so anything I can do to create a quieter environment around myself is priority.

<<< SO NICE TO FINALLY SEE SOME BLOSSOMING SHRUBS

GROANER'S CORNER  A police officer sees a man driving around with a pickup truck full of Squirrels. He pulls the guy over and says...

"You can't drive around with Squirrels in this town! Take them to the zoo immediately."

The guy says “OK”... and drives away.

The next day, the officer sees the guy still driving around with the truck full of Squirrels, and they're all wearing sun glasses. He pulls the guy over and demands...

"I thought I told you to take these Squirrels to the zoo yesterday?"

The guy replies...

"I did . . . today I'm taking them to the beach!"

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