If You Feed Them, They Will Come
Sept. 25, 2021, SANTA FE, NM — How can time fly and stand still at the same time?
It seems my summer in Santa Fe just started, but in actuality I’ve been here almost four months and will return to Dallas in a week.
It’s obvious to blog readers that I haven’t spent my time writing new posts. I apologize to those of you who commented that you wanted to read more about my summer here, even though I’m not writing from the deck of a cruise ship. I wish I could say I’ve been too busy to write, but that’s not exactly true. I’ll try to make up for it with a few last blog posts.
I came to Santa Fe in July 2020 to escape the Texas summer heat and to hunker down during the pandemic. This year I came a month earlier, returning to the same condo with its extraordinary views and company of birds, hummingbirds and other wildlife.
The hummingbirds were slow to arrive, but they are still lingering. I imagine this mid-September week of morning temperatures in the 40s will be sending them on their way south to Mexico soon. I’ve just bought my last large bag of birdseed from Wild Birds Unlimited, and hope that the finches, towhees, scrub jays and other birds will find new sources after I’ve left.
The squirrels will survive, I’m sure. They have loved the suet I put out in an effort to attract new bird species. When the suet is gone, they climb the wire fence to make themselves at home in the bird feeders. The babies even peek in my sliding door. My next-door neighbor Janet is not amused, as they have eaten many of her annual flowers and dug up the fabric under her mulch.
I’m not sure why I have enjoyed their antics here, as they terrorized my sister and I at her house in Dallas last spring. They found their way in through the chimney and set up a racetrack between the floors. The final straw for me was when they chewed through the wiring harness of my car parked in the driveway. About $3,000 later we were finally rid of them and had repaired the damage.
Among the other wildlife this summer have been coyotes who occasionally wake me up with the yelps of their pups in the arroyo. Sadly, a mother bear was killed recently on a nearby roadway. The next morning while walking I passed three game wardens on the hunt for her two cubs, which were sighted on the hill behind our condos. I heard they found one and placed it with a sanctuary. No news yet about the other.
Thanks Jo
I love critters. I enjoyed your feeding results.
That is a lot of wild life compared to Plainfield. It has been really quiet here. The highlight of our summer was the late August Columbia and Snake River cruise we took between Washington and Oregon. I taught a watercolor class while on board and really loved it. Both weeks I taught a daily one hour lesson that turned into an hour and 3/4th. Most attendee were in their 70s through 90s. Really a fun group . . . during each week I had about 90 student contact hours so it kept me really busy. In fact, I ran out of supplies after the first week as I had more attendee than I was advised I would have! So in Clarkston, I spent about 4 hours at a print shop getting more copies made of my pre sketched images. Because I was allowed only an hour for each class I decided to provide pre sketched images. That was the best decision I made as 98% of the attendees had not done watercolors let alone sketching since grade school if ever. The first day, I led them through a simple watercolor on plain watercolor paper to give a feel for how to use their paints, brushes and the use of water. They were amazed at what they did. The next day, I had them all paint the same pre sketched image while I led them through the process. I repeated this the next day with another pre sketched image. The rest of the days I provided them with a different selection of images each day they could choose from to paint on their own with me going from student to student to answer questions, show them how to lift or correct mistakes as well as how to prevent their colors from mixing and becoming muddy. The results were amazing being that they were truly beginners! Most of the pre sketched images were on half sheets of 8X11 watercolor paper. Two couples from Illinois ask me if I would be available to do a painting party for them and their friends once they got back home! I said sure but I doubt that will actually happen. But it would be fun to do. Would love to do a cruise class again sometime!!!! I really amazed myself with that experience a lot more fun than teaching kids!!! Have a great fall and winter . . . Do you ever hear from Jack? Take care . . . Barbara Ebeling
Any news yet on the other cub? You can’t end your blog on a cliffhanger!