Extreme Seymour

I dedicated today almost totally to photography - what fun! I woke up before dawn and sat myself on the sofa with a cup of tea to watch the bird world welcome in the day. As usual, the little songbirds and the downy woodpeckers started the rush on the bistro, followed by usual mob of irritable house finches. I had my camera poised, zoom extended to 300, waiting for the perfect finchy moment to break out when, suddenly, at the edge of my frame ... gray fur! Could it be? Yes, just when I thought that the squirrels would never catch on the the feeder bonanza on the deck ... along comes a big, fat, fluffy squirrel.

I snapped of a dozen or show shots before he caught the movement through the window and fled. However, he was back a few hours later to sample the wares again. Now, here's the funny thing ... I have been using a pre-blended premium mix called Extreme Trailmix, as a treat for the birds, and to entice them when I'm out with my camera. This stupidly expensive blend of seeds and nuts contains cayenne pepper and hot pepper seeds which is supposed to be unattractive to squirrels. Uh huh. Well, I've been had. Seymour (Extreme Seymour, actually) appears to LOVE hot peppers! Of course. Well, back to the cracked corn - it's cheap and since I am sure Seymour will continue to frequent the Seed Bistro, might as well mind the budget.

Also seen today were the Terific Tufted Titmouse, The ever-fetching white throated sparrow, the peanut-loving downy woodpeckers, and the gaggle of blue birds, feeding their faces..

As I sit in my office writing this, a gang of noisy finches are gorging themsleves at the window feeders, while the zen-like downy woodpecker quietly and purposefully eats his suet.

Good grief, I've turned into a bird lady.