seed flavors

I wrote some days ago about the Curious Case of the Disregarded Thistle Seed. I had experienced a kind of birdseed paradox. The new feeder I got at Kroger some weeks ago proved to be very popular when I posted it in the back yard. Despite the feeder's small size, it attracted not only small but also medium-sized songbirds.

The key attractant had been a birdseed shelled variety mix.  When I ran out of a bag of this mix, I decided to purchase some thistle seed. This seed turned out to be less popular.  I followed the advance of folks here and of my wife. I mixed layers of the mixed birdseed with layers of the thistle seed. 

The visual effect looked a bit like neapolitan ice cream. The birds liked the new mix, though they had turned up their beaks at the old thistle-seed-only offering. I was relieved that the thistle seed would not go to waste.

My wife suggested that I mix together the mason jar of mixed birdseed and the mason jar of thistle seed.  I gave that approach a try. The resulting seed mix no longer looks like the layers of neapolitan ice cream, but more like rocky road ice cream.  The birds like it.  Though I miss spreading the seed on the tiny back yard  bench that was given to us upon the passing of our wonder dog Scout, this way works better. While the rabbits get some seed that falls, we no longer attract younger bunnies whose safety Beatrice might not ensure.

I love the magic of birdseed and the ingenuity of large birds on small perches.

Fred Rogers and Great Crested

I went to the PetSmart to pick up Beatrice's prescription dog food.  I suppose there is a fear that absent a prescription, someone would eat her weight control food due to an eating disorder. I have to carry the prescription to show the cashier.

My home laptop stopped playing music through the headphone jack. I am working on fixing it. I picked up an inexpensive USB headphone set to use until I sort it out. That works pretty well, except I must direct each stream to the headphones. I  left a forum message on the Q4OS forum. I hope someone has a suggestion and it turns out to be a software bug.

I walked in Limestone Quarry Park in Frisco. I listened to Ana Faris' podcast, Unqualified. I liked the down-to-earth sense of humility and fun Ms. Fais and her co-host  brought to the show.  The show was perhaps a bit coarse-minded for me, as the guest's funny story was how he got roped into helping Russian mafia types rob his fellow classmates on a train trip in Russia.   Still, I will probably listen to another episode or three.

We saw the Mr. Rogers documentary "Won't You Be My Neighbor".  We enjoyed it very much. I was a bit older than Fred Rogers' target audience when it came out, but my sister was just the right age. I enjoyed the show then, and I enjoy it now. I was pleased with the film and with the ideas it raised about goodness and unadorned personal virtue.

I walked this late afternoon in Glendover Park. For the first time, I saw a Great Crested Flycatcher there. Of the 97 species I have seen in my home county this year, I saw 52 of those species in the little park a short walk from our home.

The weather was a bit too warm to walk Beatrice this afternoon, after I missed a "just right" opportunity in the morning. I did throw Bea's toy for her, though, which went over well.  I did see Beatrice's canine friend Diva on her walk, and I wished Beatrice could have seen her, too. Beatrice probably would have thought about this less than I did.

We ate dinner at Tian an Mien, a nice little wok place. I have not been there in months, though it is local and I like it very much. I think I stayed away for fear of eating the fried wonton strips they serve with the soup. Tonight I simply did not eat those.

I worked a good bit this afternoon. I was glad I did.