Early this morning the sun was bright (finally) and glinted off the Common Grackles at the feeders. Lots of grackles now. I may not have glamorous birds but they certainly are shiny. The top grackle looked like it thought it was King of the World. For all I know, maybe it is. The grackles on the ground were shiny too. I like to have the grackles here because they eat defoliating caterpillars (other birds do too) - flying pesticides. ----------------------------------------------------- I've been having an argument with a chickadee, or maybe several chickadees. Their "dee-dee-dee" call supposedly warns against predators, with the number of "dee's" corresponding to the level of danger. Yesterday and today I heard a "dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee" call when I went out to fill the feeders. I find this enormously insulting since I'm feeding the little brutes, so I'm trying to call back a short "dee-dee" every time I hear the long "dee" call. It seems to be working, or maybe they're just amused, because the string of "dees" is getting shorter. Claire (who really needs some spring)

Dragonladytoo, Sounds like a pretty smart dog! I have nothing good to say about HOAs so I'll just say I could NEVER live in a home in an area "ruled" by an HOA. They have FINALLY passed a long-needed law in Texas saying HOAs cannot make or enforce any rules that interfere with conservation-type projects.....so, now people in Texas in HOA neighborhoods can xeriscape, have rainwater collection systems, etc. Since the law passed, many Texas homeowners can finally garden in a way that makes sense to them ecologically. Annie, Sorry about the loss of your little pullet. It is just so frustrating, I know. Some years we lose a few, but so far this year we haven't lost any. (Crossing my fingers and hoping I didn't just jinx us and the birds.) Our original bunch of guineas from 2000 has dwindled from 20-something to 3, and we've lost most of them to predators like hawks. We're currently raising 17 keets in a brooder cage inside the chicken coop, so soon we'll have more guineas, but with all the hawks, I don't know how long they will last. I let them free range every day in the summer, but have to keep them in their enclosed bird run (with a bird netting top) a lot more in the winter. We have a fairly young Heinz 57 dog that our DS rescued and adopted last June after the Gainesville, Texas flood left her homeless. I have no idea what breeds are combined in her, but she is a long, lanky hound-dog looking bundle of energy who has made it her mission in life to chase every hawk, owl, kestrel, kite, egret, and heron that attempts to land in the yard. She doesn't bother the songbirds or the free-ranging poultry, but she doesn't tolerate any bird that is going to prey on anything on land or water on our piece of property. I'd love to have ducks, too, but we have too many wild animals that prey upon them. We tried having some after we first moved here, and some of our neighbors did too, and they just don't stand a chance because our woods/pastures are full of bobcats, foxes, ringtailed cats, coyotes and the occasional panther or cougar. I do think that our birds survive longer nowadays because the tiny trees we planted after we moved here finally have gotten large enough to provide them with some cover around the house. Dawn

Ok, Thanks Elly.

Yes, juvie Coop.