SQUIRRELS AND CATS AND OTHER THINGS

Our cat doesn't like us.

At the shelter, when we took her out of her cage, she was friendly, well-mannered, and calm. We petted her and she seemed glad of the attention.

We got her home and...

Once out of the carrier, she took off and it took several days for her to come around us. Now she looks down her nose at us, like she's saying, "Okay. I allowed you to break me out, but that doesn't mean I have to put up with you." She doesn't like being petted. She doesn't like the kind of food we feed her. She won't come sit with us. She won't play with us.

Oh, she doesn't scratch or claw when we pick her up. But at the first opportunity, she hops down and runs the other way. And the only time she approaches us is when it's time for food.

Otherwise...We're on our own. She hangs out in her room and we hang out in ours. If she decides to play with her toys, she plays with them by herself. She stops playing if we try to join in.

So we've taken to exclaiming over the birds and squirrels that seem to abound in our yard, hoping she'll get a little jealous. So far, no good. But the other critters are quite cute and fun to watch!

Like this squirrel. He gets on the big feeder and pitches food out on the ground while picking out the tastiest morsels for himself. Here he is in the bushes, eyeing the feeder:

And here, he's climbing up the feeder:

He strikes all kinds of cute poses as he eats:

The doves below like for him to eat, too, since they get what's on the ground.

There are also cardinals, a blue jay, and other birds that I have no names for. But they're all interesting.

Thank goodness, they'll entertain us since our house pet won't! Though she enjoys watching them, too.

HUMMINGBIRDS

Hummingbirds are dainty little creatures, but I haven't had much luck with them. I set out a feeder last year and again this spring. A month or so ago, one finally showed up. He's not very friendly though, coming out only when he thinks we're gone.

But we just came back from a trip where we visited some relatives near Atlanta, where both houses had out feeders for the cute little critters. In fact, one house had two. Evidently, they get refilled every other day and I could see why. The hummingbirds were flying around, chasing each other off, drinking, and sometimes just sitting on the little perch. There must have been a dozen of them.

The other house had only one feeder, but it too was a busy place. Six or seven little birds seemed mostly set on rushing at each other and scaring other birds away, though occasionally they would land and drink.

"I think they like the nectar best when it ferments a little," the homeowner said. "I noticed a wasp drinking the other day. He lapped and lapped and lapped and when he finally flew away, he was weaving."

Drunk wasps! What next?

She also offered a photo of a pregnant hummingbird taken a few weeks ago. "You can see the egg bulge in her fat little stomach."

And you can!

Love these sweet birds!

BIRDS WITH THEIR YOUNG

Looking out into our postage-stamp of a back yard:

Our lilies are starting to fade but are still pretty.

And this bird came up to the feeder the other day. I don't know what he is, but he has a splash of red on his wings that you can't see in the picture. We hadn't noticed him before or since. Maybe he was just passing through.

And I could not get a photo of our cardinals. Every time I tried to take one, they spotted me and flew away. A couple have been eating at our bird feeder for some time and lately, they've shown up with a large baby. Well, it can fly so I guess it's technically a fledgling.

What seems strange to me is that the mother and father feed it from the bird feeder. The baby sits on the table or a chair, and a parent comes down from the feeder and puts food into its mouth. A couple of times, the baby has lit on the feeder and seems to be eating, then she goes back to her old habits, waiting to be fed.

This has been going on for several days now. I'm wondering if the baby is a little slow? Seems like she ought to be able to feed herself by now.

But what do I know? Maybe this is what all birds do!

FOWL

We've been lazy over the holidays, not doing too much. We have been on some walks though. This morning, we saw these ducks in the neighborhood pond. One white one and three wild ones. Oops, four. I didn't see the little one till the group realized he was missing and headed back to pick him up!

And these blackbirds were down by the pier. Perched on the wires, they almost looked like a tree!

Tomorrow it will be 2015 so I'll wish everyone a happy new year today. I hope 2015 will be better for everyone whose 2014 wasn't so great. I can't complain about last year, so if  my 2015 is as good or better, I'll be happy!

BIRD MAN

Today we were walking in the Village, trying to make up for all that turkey and fixings we indulged in over Thanksgiving (and by the way, I hope everyone had as lovely a Thanksgiving as we did) when we came upon a man feeding the birds.

When we first saw him, he had a bird perched on his head. I wasn't in time to snap that shot but here he is with what looks like sated birds. He's offering them bread but they aren't nearly so eager as they were in the beginning.

Personally, I wouldn't want to be sitting in the midst of them since they can start flying around overhead at any given time!

VISITORS

We've had visitors for several days, including the Fourth of July, and hope to have more in the next week or two. Since we've been busy with them, we've just now got around to getting more food for Mr. Piggy.

Yep, Mr. Piggy. The squirrel who tried to take over the bird feeder.

Our new feeder seems to be keeping him out though. The cardinals and some others are back to eating at it, but I don't think they like the landing posts as much as the tray on the old one. I had to take these pix through glass so they aren't too sharp, but here's the female cardinal at the new one.

Mr. Piggy tried eating from it, but it slides down and covers the feed holes when he puts any weight on it. He was quite frustrated.

So we're leaving the old one up for him. He can eat and strew seeds to his heart's content.

SQUIRREL AND BIRD FEEDER

Our bird feeder has been great for enticing blue jays, cardinals, and other birds. It has also attracted a tree rat.

Mr. Piggy, as we've nicknamed him, has been eating way more than his due. And what he doesn't eat, he throws around on the ground. On occasion, he's even brought a friend to party with him.

Here he's getting to the food.

Here he's had his fill.

Mr. Piggy may be a cute little thing, but we have invested in a new bird feeder. This one has a covering. When a weighty object like Mr. Piggy jumps onto the feeding tray, the plastic cover slides down and blocks the openings to the seed.

I'll let you know how it works.