Harmony Bird and Mammal News

In my dooryard there is a lilac, and in the lilac there is a nest, and in the nest there is supposed to be a robin. But every time anyone opens the back door or happens to amble past within 20 feet of the bush, the robin screeches, "Yikes!" and flies off into the woods. Since I am constantly opening the back door and ambling past the bush, I'd say that any chance of hatchlings is remote. However, I will keep you apprised.

The poodle demonstrated this week that she has no talent for rodent management. Yesterday she excitedly chased a red squirrel up the maple tree next to the lilac (incidentally causing the robin to screech, "Yikes!" and fly off into the woods). The squirrel responded in the usual squirrel way: by perching safely out of reach and then berating the poodle with a stream of fluent squirrel invective, roughly translating as "Somebody musta whooped your mama with a ugly stick. . . . " Eventually, the squirrel got tired of swearing and jumped into the apple tree and left the premises. Meanwhile, the poodle spent the afternoon sitting proudly at the base of the maple, waiting for the squirrel to come down.

Then, this morning, as I was feeding chickens, I discovered two mice trapped at the bottom of a five-gallon bucket. Even though field mice, with their big ears and liquid eyes, are undoubtedly cuter than house mice, which look like squinting miniature rats, I have become immune to the charms of rodents. Followed by the interested poodle, I carried the bucket over to the edge of the woods and dumped out the mice. For a terrier, this action would have been more or less equivalent to mice-served-on-a-platter. For a poodle, it was yet another chance to pounce enthusiastically in all the wrong places. I expect to see those mice again tomorrow.