Have a date with some bird feeders this weekend. The three-tube feeder is being replaced with another three-tube feeder. It's long overdue. Squirrels and raccoons have pretty much destroyed the one we have. I'll be moving it to a new location and will be using a better baffle. I'm sure the raccoons and squirrels will find a way, though. They always do. Also have a new hummingbird feeder. In theory, it has everything you want in a hummingbird feeder. It is glass, which cleans better. It has a large capacity, which is critical late in the season when they are swarming the feeder and draining it. The bottom comes apart for easy cleaning. The ant guard will be used but it looks like it will be more tedious to deal with than useful.
LSU and Stony Brook played what Harry Caray would call a ding dong game last night and this morning. For those of us who have never heard of Stony Brook, I read up on them a little this week and it should be noted that they are not cannon fodder for LSU and they are certainly not chumps. Seven of their players were drafted this week. They have a very good baseball team as Miami found out last week. They outplayed the Tigers for 8 innings. Unfortunately for them, the game is longer than that. Sometimes, it's quite a bit longer. The Tigers picked up the win in 12 innings. An astute baseball fan will see everything they need to know about this great game in the box score and recap. Minor perturbedness: Was there really not enough room on the internet to include the 1st inning in the line score? They're at it again today. The Tigers trail the Seawolves, 3-1. Tigers are batting and just scored in the top of the sixth. Update (2PM): Seawolves win, 3-1. Game 3 tomorrow at 1PM local time. Winner heads to Omaha. Loser heads or stays home.
Midway through the tumultuous offseason.
About today's QOTD: Warren Zevon's fabulous Poor, Poor Pitiful Me mentions a Waring Blendor. Count Patsy and I amongst those who didn't know about them until looking them up on the internet.
Just found out I have more work in the yard today. Swear I didn't know I needed a permit.
88 Days until football season ...
5 song iTunes shuffle:
- Power - Rainbow - Straight Between The Eyes
- Life's Like A River - Scorpions - In Trance
- Wild Is The Wind - David Bowie - Station To Station
- Mustang Sally - The Commitments - The Commitments
- Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon - Queen - A Night At The Opera
Quote of the Day
The bandleader Fred Waring (b. 1900) provided financial backing for the first electric blendor which holds his name to this day. Put that guy behind the bar.
Kurt Schlosser, MSNBC
Blog of the day is here.
Quote from said blog: "Sometimes, even when you are bleary eyed, stressed, and completely in your own head, there are things that pull you out of your own little world and make you wonder at the world around you. Take a deep breath, and go into your finals confidently! The sun will be out here when you are done."
I'm interested in how that baffle works. The two different baffles I've tried have succeeded only in baffling me as to how the squirrels defeated them.
Now I know you boys down there don't have to be told "No birdshot" when it comes to zombies, so what's the deal? You get a sudden influx of New Yorkers or something?
The baffle is longer than it looks in the photo. It is steel so I doubt raccoons and other backyard varmints will ever be able to gouge it enough to gain any purchase on it. It is well-designed but squirrels and raccoons are ridiculously resourceful when it comes to getting at whatever they want. They will eventually defeat this, too.
We do have our share of, uh, birdbrains around here, Dave, but Louisiana's Department of Zombies, Wildlife, and Fisheries has really been cracking down on permits. One inadvertent look in my backyard and we're toast.