An Excess of Predators

Yesterday we had lots of predators visit... well, two animal ones anyway and I don't know if the flyover airplanes were predators (which I think is a kind of fighter plane) but I'm counting them so that makes three.

First, the hawk spent a few minutes surveying the bird buffet while I was making the breakfast burritos.  I don't think it swooped down and caught anything but it was looking.  We love seeing it.

The burritos were a big success.  Durwood and I had one each for breakfast just to make sure that they were edible and these six got frozen, wrapped up in cling wrap with a packet of mild sauce, and tossed in a zipper bag in the freezer for later consumption.  I warned Durwood that he didn't have to gobble them all up on the next six mornings because I knew that was what he was thinking.  He even had a good "reason."  He said since they weren't able to be "sucked" (sealed with the vacuum sealer) they didn't have a long freezer life and he didn't want them to spoil but I told him that I thought they'd make it at least a month without damage.  These husbands are pretty sneaky, you have to watch them every minute.

(OMG, Durwood just turned on the TV and the weather guy said it's 9 degrees and the WIND CHILL is 4 degrees below zero!!!!!  Arrgh.  The high temp today is supposed to rocket up to 18 degrees.  We're doomed.  The woman ahead of me in the checkout at Fleet Farm yesterday said they'd just moved here from Albuquerque, she already looked frozen and kind of shell-shocked and it's only mid-November.  She's really doomed.)

After lunch the feral black cat that roams the neighborhood was crouched behind a corner of the garden also surveying the bird buffet.  I bought a new feeder hoping that it will keep the sparrows from flinging all the safflower seeds out as soon as I fill it up.  You should see the ground below the feeder, there's a hillock of seed that's impossible to rake out.  It's thick, and wasteful so I'm trying to stanch the flow without punishing the other birds by not filling the feeder as often.  Maybe Durwood can train the feral cat to eat only sparrows... yeah, probably not.

Then just before the kickoff of the Packer game a pair of fighter jets roared by.  Yay!  Airplanes!  I noticed as I was filling feeders in the morning that a lot of small, corporate-type jets were landing.  I figured that was the fat cats coming to the game.  Cool looking little airplanes, though.

November 17--India, Mughal Period, State Entry of Darak Shiku.  The soles of her feet and the palms of her hands were blood red, dyed for a religious celebration.  She wore gold rings, bracelets and earrings with ropes of pearls draped to her waist. Ellen watched the young woman. She thought they were about the same age but the Indian girl seemed to have a poise that Ellen seldom felt.

Windy, cold, snow flurries--those are the things the weather guy's talking about.  Pardon me while I go dive deep under the covers to hide from the cold.  I wonder if I brought up any longjohns...  I'd better go check.
--Barbara