Blue Birds
by Terry Brinkman

 

 

Yesterday I picked Four bushels of apples, a few days ago I picked a bushel from a different tree. I have seven apple trees. Some years I get a lot of apples, some years a few, each tree is different each year. I may be able to find a book or two and find out what makes each tree do what they do (oh well). This is a banner year for the trees. The tree I picked four bushels from may have about ten more bushels; I don’t spray so I only keep about fifty percent that are worm free. Usually I leave most apples on the trees for the birds to eat all winter, by spring when they eat the crab apples they get drunk, I guess the apples ferment on the tree.  

A few days ago when I was picking apples I could not help myself from being amazed watching the blue birds eating from my sunflowers. In the peak of summer I have four or five hundred Sunflowers; I never planted one of them, half the stuff growing in my yard I did not plant. All I can figure out is the birds eat the seeds and drop them off in my yard and they grow. It’s up to me to decide which I let grow an what I call weeds and remove; some of my friends call my yard the Garden of Edna, others call it a mess so I guess it depends on what you like.

During the fall I am always picky about dead-heading the Sunflowers making sure I leave the sunflowers the birds can eat.

When I had a dog and not cats I used to leave food for the birds, but with my cats and the community cats hanging in my yard that just don’t seem right; but natural food seems okay. By the way I always have loads of bees and Humming birds. Buzzing in the Garden of Edna before long it will be snowing. I think my shovel is ready I have way too big of driveway. 

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