Had to climb onto the roof today. It was just very briefly. It does not count as climbing onto the roof. I had with me several feet of steel wire. I attached two ends at strategically very well chosen points. I cut the wire a bit longer than needed, then threw it over the edge.
Once back on the fire escape, I attached the ends in a way that created just the right amount of tention. The wires had to cross at a point that would be about two feet away from the glass of the window. This is where I created a special knot. I attached the bird feeder to this particular spot.
Three squirrels were staring at me from the roof as I was adjusting the position of the feeder. One squirrel looked up from the fire escape stairs.
As I was working on my wired piece, more and more birds gathered on the near by branches. I was being watched by several species.
I made a steel wire suspension that will keep away humans too. It looks clearly like a non verbal sign: "This is the home of a psycho-steel-wire-murderer. Stay away, or he is going to turn you into bird food or something worse than that."
Oh, and: "Rhaaaaaarrrrggghhhh!"
The suspension looks insane. It is version 0.3. I am afraid the wire I selected might eventually begin to rust and need to be replaced. I kept some of the excess wire attached, just in case a further drop in temperature makes the tension on the whole system too strong.
(It is a hellava system...)
I will probably think about a more elegant solution soon. For now..., for now the feeder is in a place that can not be reached by an intelligent squirrel. At least not by one that would like to live for more than a few more minutes. (=intelligent squirrel = squirrel.)
It is amazing how I chose to withdraw food form a mammal, in order to make it available to little airborne dinosaur-like creatures. It does feel a little odd, i somehow crossed that species line perhaps. Maybe if the squirrels had a better variety in their plumage, maybe if they sang beautiful and complex songs. (I think they do both.)
Okay, the squirrels still get (got) their food. There was a lot of it available for everyone today. It just was, really.
The bird feeder instructions had suggested that once a feeder is positioned it might take something like three weeks for the birds to actually figure it out what was now available to them.
Because we are in Bruaklyn, New Yoak, there were birds on my window and fire escape and on the feeder itself about three minutes after I crawled back into my living space.
Okay, they were sparrows of various origin, some Juncos. Slate and Dark eyed and what not.
These are a bit like flying squirrels, aren't they?
Ah, maybe all this does not really matter...
Can I say just it again? "Rhhoooooaaarrrggghhhhhhh!" yeah, that felt , hmm, okay.
(Can you see him say "thank you, psycho bird feeder man"?)
(Can you see him say "thank you, psycho bird feeder man"?)
i love juncos! but did you know their name comes from a type of executioner's hood? pretty scary. i prefer to think that they're wearing cosy balaclavas instead. but maybe that isn't any less scary. :)
wow, I did not know about the name. I actually did not really know Juncos were hanging around Brooklyn (apparently they do that a lot in the winter time) until some came to my window.
I know so little.