It seems like summer has just started, but in less than two
weeks we go on our now-traditional August vacation, with a break from phone and
other tech time sinks. Once we come back, there’s a week to catch up, then I
start teaching again. Where does the time go?
The last couple of weeks were spent trying to keep up with
the summer sale and special promotion, as well as wholesale orders. I think
today’s industrial-size run to the post office must be the culmination of the
summer madness! It’s been a scramble, but it’s great to have so much business
from long-time customers and new ones.
Today’s drama was the attack of the robins on our blueberry
bushes. They have been eyeing them for the past couple of weeks waiting for the
berries to ripen, and today they were all over the bushes, ripping and tearing
at the clusters as they stuffed their greedy mouths. Some people like robins,
but I have developed an intense dislike of them. It started when I put some
baby orchid compots outside to water and went away to do something else for
half an hour. When I came back, I found several robins gobbling down baby
orchid plants! Of course they chose to eat the rarest and most expensive
plants, not the ordinary ones. I recently discovered that robins are
responsible for the pre-dawn bird-screaming that wakes me up way too early in
the morning. Another bad mark. For years they have eaten our blueberries. One
year we tried putting bird-netting over the bushes, but the robins just lifted
up a corner, crawled under it, and ate the blueberries anyway. These robins are
the fattest, greediest, most aggressive birds I’ve ever seen.
As I try to clear my shelves of excess items, I continue
with the Monday giveaways. This week it will be another 100 g of random perfume
samples worldwide; for a US winner, the samples will be accompanied by some
larger items up to the 1-pound limit for first-class shipping. To enter the
drawing, leave a comment about which bird you most dislike. If you don’t
dislike any birds, answer the ridiculous corporate interview question of which
bird you would like to be and why.
The drawing will be held next Sunday so that I have time to
ship your prize before leaving for vacation.
[The blueberry pic is mine. The others are from Wikimedia. The robins appear to have been photographed east of the Rockies, and are much slimmer, cuter, and more benign-looking than than the Seattle variety.]
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I know someone else who hates robins with a passion. In explaining why, she said "Look, their scientific name is 'Turdus migratorius'- they're a flying shit bird!!!"
ReplyDeleteI can't say I dislike any species of bird, although the one that got in my car when I left the windows down and took a shit down the inside of the door is on my serious list. Whatever it was.
Laurie, you're right about the Turdus, except that they don't migrate, they live here all year long. Now that you remind me, earlier this spring the robins were roosting on my car and shitting all over it. Another reason to hate them. At least they didn't get inside. You're in the drawing.
DeleteWe have blackberry bushes that get ravaged by blue jays every summer. The blackberries ripen quickly and the dang birds usually get them before we do. They're noisy too especially when drunk on fruit.
ReplyDeleteAnne, the drunk bluejays sound almost as bad as the robins. Our robins will go after the blackberries, too, when they get ripe. You're in the drawing.
DeleteMy current nemesis is the Summer Tanager who is eating all my gorgeous figs. I don't hate him, but I sure wish he would eat one fig at a time instead of pecking half a dozen to find his favorite. He probably wishes I would quit stealing his figgies so I suppose we are even.
ReplyDeleteThe only birds I really dislike are the darned Eurasian Collared "doves" (look like pigeons to me) that flounder around in a panic whenever anyone walks outside and crap all over the cars. They are about as graceful as flying barges, they sound like suffering bulls when they call, and they poop everyplace.
I do agree that robins are a bunch of thugs, though. They migrate through here in gangs and chase the cute little songbirds around.
Liz, we have problems with birds pecking the figs, too, probably the robins. Those collared doves sound obnoxious! You're in the drawing.
ReplyDeleteWho doesn't hate pigeons, especially me as architect in renovation I can say this bird is a plague for all the monuments and churches towers.
ReplyDeleteFrederic, yes, pigeons are even worse than robins. You're in the drawing.
DeleteOooh, so sorry to hear about the squawky destructive birds!! We have problems with squirrels eating all the fruit around here, they usually don't seem to even wait until the fruit ripen :( I have a thing against seagulls after almost getting attacked by a flock of them on a visit to France, extremely scary.
ReplyDeleteYuki, seagulls are another obnoxious bird species. They're aggressive, and when they poop, it's enormous! We have had problems with squirrels eating unripe fruit and unripe hazelnuts, too. You're in the drawing.
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