They Stole My Bike

It has been a while – once again – since I have posted anything here, so let me give you a couple of updates. This will not be news to many of you, but somebody stole my bike. Yes, my 34-year old piece of metal (pictured a few posts down) with 1 working gear, no brakes, no fenders and tires that barely held air was just too much for somebody to pass by. The theft occurred sometime in the wee morning hours of June 19th. I had absent-mindedly left the overhead door to my garage open over night. The bike was way up front and not easily visible from the sidewalk, but someone found it and took it.

Interestingly, I had a lawn-light on and there was a functioning motion-detector on my drive way and inside the garage. None of these “security devices” were any deterrent at all. And, I think I actually heard the theft taking place. But, because it was sometime between 2 am and 4 am and I was groggy, I never got up to investigate the strange noises outside.

Oh well, the bike was worth – at best – maybe $3 at a garage sale. The monetary loss was minimal, except that it will cost me a lot more than $3 if I ever overcome my deep inertia and buy another one. But, it was still MY bike and I had it for 34 years! I’m still holding out hope that I may find it someday. After all, it has a lock wound around the seat, and only I have the key to that!

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OK, how about an animal update. Well, I continue to feed everything that moves in my neighborhood. The birds are actually costing me a lot more than all the other critters combined. In addition to the Cardinals and Blue Jays, Starlings and Sparrows, Yellow Finches and the Woodpecker pictured in the June 3rd posting, I also have the birds pictured here. I think they are the females of another variety of Woodpecker. They are smaller and less colorful than the others, but I am quite sure they are indeed Woodpeckers.

Also, I have named the grey cat Dusty. I am pretty sure Dusty, who was born in the late summer of 2007, is actually an off-spring of Sundown. A couple of nights ago, after dinner, Dusty was chasing bugs around in the backyard. I tried to get my camera to film it, but I was too late for that.

I have not seen Porky – the Opossum – in several weeks, but that does not mean she never shows up. I have, however, seen a very FAT raccoon who shows up every night around 11 pm and cleans up whatever Dusty and Sundown leave behind. An interesting thing about the raccoon is his/her “bravery.” If I spook one of the cats while they are eating, they are gone for the night. When I would spook Porky, she would leave for about 20 minutes. On the other hand, I did spook the raccoon several times while trying to get this picture. However, she would run behind the garage and then within 15 or 20 seconds – at most – she’d be sticking her nose out again to see if the coast was clear. We repeated this process at least a half dozen times. The appeal of the left-over cat food was far stronger than any fear of the strange lights and noises.

Athletic & Acrobatic Animals

I told you ... and showed you ... a while back about the persistence of the squirrels who live in my yard and frequent my bird feeders. While I was duly impressed with their ability to climb my metal
pole and then reach down from above to get at the seed bell, their latest talents are far more impressive. As you can see from this short video, this character actually hangs from the feeding cage by his/her back feet. He essentially does a mid-air sit-up to get some seed, then hangs fully extended upside down to eat the seed. When he is finished with that bite, the entire process starts over again. Pretty amazing, if you ask me! Give it a look for yourself.

I also have a couple of shots of some other critters who have been showing up. I hve had a bunch of different birds -- who, by the way, eat just like pigs! -- but one of the more interesting ones, to me anyway, is this woodpecker.

I also offer up another picture of the upside down squirrel with a Cardinal sitting above awaiting its turn.

And finally, another cat. I actually did name this cat, but that name eacapes me now. (Good job on THAT one, huh?) I am not sure, but I think this grey cat is Sundown's off-spring. This one comes around earlier in the day than does Sundown, but, like Sundown, never eats everything.