Two dead thrushes in two days on UD‘s deck! Both flew into our sliding glass doors. I think both were young… There’s always a bit of bird carnage out there – maybe four birds a year? – but I’ve never seen two of the same species on two consecutive days. And thrushes, with their famous song.
UD gets more interested in mushrooms each autumn. Her back woods, as you know, are all about dead trees, and she’s been delighted with her giant puffball crop and various less flashy fungi. Today she pulled from a tree what turned out to be a full shelf of oyster mushrooms which yes yes I know you can eat but UD is afraid to eat any mushroom she forages. She doesn’t trust her ability to identify them.
Mushrooms are very in lately.
A haughty orange cat has taken over UD‘s property. It always makes sure to be tramping around when UD‘s outside, and it stares insolently at UD, but refuses to approach. It has the look of a real predator, and UD‘s garden and wood, with its birds and rabbits galore, is just the thing. Today, as UD leaned on her rake (taking a break from dragging leaves curbside), she watched as the orange cat made sure UD was watching, and then shat in a stand of azaleas.
On the plus side, the cat took a long careful time covering up – with soil, leaves, and twigs – what it had done.
Another regular in UD‘s woods is the deer with one antler. I’ve watched this character year after year. Its dead antler never fell off; it hangs, a blackened fragment, off the side of its head. UD usually shoos away deer who get close to her house, but she has a soft spot for One Antler.
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UPDATE: Yikes. Were those birds gifts to me from the cat?
October 20th, 2014 at 10:49AM
Maybe you want to put a couple of bird silhouettes on the doors.
Coincidentally, a pair of Hermit Thrushes in my backyard yesterday. Nothing special but not something I see everyday. In fact I only seem them at this time of year, almost never hear them in summer.
October 20th, 2014 at 11:35AM
Instant karma for my slight chiding: pigeon just smacked full on my (silhoetteless) living room window. He seems to have survived though.
October 20th, 2014 at 11:57AM
Haha. Karma works that way.
I really don’t want to do any of the things you’re supposed to do to cut down on the carnage. They all involve messing up my windows but good.