Birdfeeders

There is a large, cylinder shaped bird feeder at each of the narrow, floor to ceiling windows at opposite ends of a wall in the room where I usually sit when knitting.

I have nice views that stretch beyond our lawn and the street passing our house. There are pastures, fenced with white piping, where horses graze, with a black and white goat that keeps the horses company.

Aside from the TV screen, I can vary my glances between knitting stitches to the bird feeders or to the horses in the fields beyond.

We don't always fill the bird feeders from the top; we just fill the circular, rimmed shelf at the bottom of the feeder that catches all the seeds spilled by birds at the little open doors staggered around the cylinder. We have doves, Redwing black birds, one Blue Jay and a beautiful red Cardinal that come to the feeders regularly.

And --- we also have 'The Big Q'.

That's what we call the Squirrel that comes to gorge on birdseed. We don't say the word, 'Squirrel' out loud. If we do, Bingo, our dog, starts barking and jumping, begging to go outside to run the yard fence. There is a very brave, but cautious Squirrel that runs along the top rail or just sits on the top fence rail and dares the dog to catch him. I can't be certain that it's the same squirrel that eats out birdseed, but I have a hunch it's the one and same.