It’s all for the birds

Just like most folks these days we are hunkering around at home. Not much going on besides taking some interest in the news, doing housekeeping and the usual stuff. We were, however, blessed with some pretty good weather. For a while I thought the Snow God had forgotten our area this year and Benno and I enjoyed walking our dogs on dry pavement that was void of any snow. Mind you it still was cold outside.

Birds seem to sense when a change in weather is coming. I took notice of that last year several times when they got into a kind of feeding frenzy before it rained or it snowed. Of course once the ground is covered with snow the birds flock to any food supply they spot. I put out a small feeder filled with wild birdseed for the little Sparrows and such but had to take it back inside again after it was invaded by a bunch of bold and aggressive Brown-headed Cowbirds, Starlings, Grackles and Blackbirds that gave the little birdies no chance to snag a morsel. Sorry big fellas, but you have to go elsewhere.

Look at that scene on our front lawn I photographed through the window on Sunday morning and that was only a fraction of the flock or should I say the masses that descended onto the grassy areas around our house. The thriller film “The Birds” by Alfred Hitchcock came to my mind. A couple of hours later it started snowing leaving about a couple of inches of snow, which covered the ground pretty much everywhere.

Fresh fluffy snow on the deck was of course very inviting for Elsa and Reggy to have some fun in and they had it all messed up in no time at all.

 

                                       Look at these rascals

A few days ago Benno received in the mail his order of Ceccorp Instant Wood Glue he had ordered for a special job. The label states it is used for: Wood 20 gr toughened medium viscosity cyanoacrylate adhesive designed to bond surface insensitive material like wood, leather, rubber, plastics and metal. We keep small mementos from our travels in a display cabinet for sentimental reasons. One such item is a small, delicate, hand carved motorboat made from a very light Balsam kind of wood grown in the jungle of South America. The little boat is carved in its entirety from a piece of wood and even the smallest details are carved wood but its rooftop had come undone while we transported it and Benno wanted to fix it.

 

When we were cruising and exploring on our boat the waters of the Orinoco and Macareo rivers in Venezuela, the local Wareo Indians came in their boats to trade their handmade items for whatever we could spare. Sometimes it was shampoo, clothing, sewing items, ropes and just about anything we could spare. Benno had a small pocketknife that would light up a LED light when pressing a button and he showed it to a young lad who had come by to trade. The boy wanted the knife very badly and was willing to depart with his precious possession of his hand carved boat for it. Looking at all these things in the cabinet takes us back to memory lane.

The boy that came with his hand carved boat

The following pictures show some of the dwellings of the Wareo Indians along the Macareo River bank. Most Wareos lived in thatched huts on stilts that are open fronted. Several huts were connected by walkways. For transportation they used either dugout canoes or small boats with outboard motors.

 

Other Wareo Indians trading their baskets

One more week and it will be already February and springtime not so far off. Stay well and healthy and thanks for dropping by.