Saturday, May 23, 2015

Frogs, birds, and dust bunnies.

We have family and friends coming over tomorrow evening to eat BBQ to celebrate Memorial Day. Some of them have to work Monday, so Sunday seemed like the best day.

The house needed touching up, so we cleaned bathrooms and dusted the cobwebs off the ceiling fan. There were opossum sized dust bunnies under the couch. Our collie Caillou is a joy, but there is a price tag attached to ownership.

When we finished the initial "sweep" we headed to town to pick up a few items,  and we made a stop
at the produce stand.

I sweeten my coffee with honey, and this little stand has local honey, F-R-O-G Jam and produce fresh off the vines, plants, trees, and what not.

I mentioned F-R-O-G jam to a friend recently and the recoiled. It's not really made of frogs, I added, it's made of figs, raspberries, orange, and ginger. All I can say is ... it's tasty.

This afternoon as I sat on the couch making a todo list of chores I needed to complete before our company arrived, I heard a WHUMP against our front glass.

We live in a modified A Frame, and the front of our great-room has windows reaching from the floor to the apex of our roof which is 14 feet. Sometimes in spring and autumn when the angle of light changes, birds think they can fly inside our house and perch on our coat rack.

When I heard the impact, I stepped to the glass to look outside. I can tell by the sound if the bird killed instantly. The sound a bird makes when it collides with the glass is different depending on whether it hits breast first or beak first. When it's beak first, they die instantly and fall to the ground just outside the glass. When it hits breast first, it knocks the wind out of them and they usually sit dazed on the ground.

We always look for survivors because they are easy prey for dogs and cats.

The bird today was a breast first impact. He glanced off the glass and landed on a limb in the potted citrus tree we put out there a few weeks ago.

It was dazed and I stepped within inches to do a visual inspection to make sure it was OK. After about 20 minutes, it came to its senses and flew off.

I wish it could tell its friends to be mindful of the windoes.



8 comments:

  1. I know you guys will have a great time. YOu guys make a great pair of hosts. Enjoy the Memorial Day.
    That is a cute lady with the colorful veggies. I hate that about the birds. Back when we had a lot of sliding glass doors around the pool, we lost a couple birds over the years. I don't remember hearing one, but found them later.
    The best to you guys and the cook out.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You have a great day tomorrow. I am certain it will come together wonderfully. I feel so bad for the birds and I had read somewhere what one can do so this stops but I can't remember. They have a big problem in Toronto and I am certain in many other big cities with tall glass buildings

    ReplyDelete
  3. FROG Jam sounds interesting. Is it a local thing or have you seen it in other parts of the country?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous12:55 AM

    I had never heard of FROG jam, so I googled it. Anyone who does their own canning should check here: http://www.pickyourown.org/FROG_jam_recipe.htm

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'd heard of frog jam but have yet to see it here. Sounds good so I'll get some when I find it. Ceiling fans are wonderful, but they surely do collect a lot of dust too. You've reminded me that I need to dust mine. Hope you have a wonderful time with your friends!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I hate it when birds fly into windows, there is so little you can do to help them.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your wife is so cute! This was us last weekend, cleaning up a storm and cooking when we entertained friends. I love a man that helps. Some jobs are really big, like ceiling fans and ceilings! The jam sounds good; it never occurred to me to use honey in coffee. I'm not a sweet coffee person...but a curious one...see you later; I just made a fresh pot and I'm going to try the honey! Have a fun Memorial Day B-B-Q.

    ReplyDelete
  8. When I read frog jam I thought what is in it, I came up with raspberries and orange but couldn't figure out what the f or the g was but I got it half right.

    ReplyDelete

Please consider sharing

Email Signup Form

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required