I made a trip to Agway yesterday. This was the first of several that will be made over the winter. The standard order is a bag of “Favorite” – 4o pounds of assorted seeds designed for birds of all varieties but also a ‘favorite’ snack for the local deer during the winter; a bag of “Squirrel Mix” – a 25-pound combination of corn, sunflower seeds, and peanuts marketed for squirrel lovers but also enjoyed by birds, chipmunks, skunks, raccoons, mice, opossums and who knows what; and “Peanuts in the Shell“– sold in 25-pound bags.
The signal that the time has come for my pilgrimage is the early morning squawking of the blue jays that begins every fall around the first of November. We see a few earlier but, like the swallows of Capistrano, the jays know when it’s time to expect the daily distribution of peanuts that will continue until about the time the forsythias’ yellow branches announce another spring.
The reason the blue jays have become dependent on this largess and have grown to consider it a right is because of the generous heart of Dianne. She is a sucker for the appeal of a cute animal (actually, any animal, cute or not.) She makes sure “my blue jays, my squirrels, and my critters” are taken care of. Like a Disney heroine, the animals love her, depend on her, and flock to her. Come to think of it, I love her, depend on her, and flock to her also.
Jim