Bird Whisperer

At our home on Lake Norman, we had a birdhouse that Bluebirds used for at least two successful hatchings per season.  Aloma put orange slices on top of the birdhouse that the Bluebirds snacked on and then Aloma really got their attention.  She put freeze-dried mealworms on top.  The Bluebirds loved them and would gather around as Aloma fed them every evening.

I surprised her a few weeks ago.  I ordered 1000 LIVE mealworms from Amazon and proudly presented them to her when they arrived.  She wasn’t too happy when I mentioned they should be kept in the refrigerator.  “Not in my refrigerator.”

Since Aloma was not enthusiastic about my mealworm purchase, I decided I would train birds to come to our feeder.  I put about 20 mealworms in an aluminum pan under our redbud tree at 5:00 p.m. everyday.  In case some birds did not wear wristwatches, my other stimulus to announce feeding time was some nuts and bolts in a plastic box, making a loud but annoying sound when shook.

Did it work?  To an extent.  A Mockingbird picked right up my signals and would swoop in and feed on mealworms.  I didn’t put out mealworms one evening and he came right at 5:00 and gave us hell.  He was mad.  We were hoping to attract Bluebirds but when they came, the Mockingbird drove them off.  He even drove off other Mockingbirds.  The Bluebirds are now too frightened to feed at our suet feeder.

I guess it’s best I didn’t quit my day job (being retired) to become a professional Bird Whisperer.

Seasoned Man

stevelem117@gmail.com

We're Not Alone

When I wrote my blog, “Like Riding a Bicycle,” in March, about the difficulty Aloma and I had switching sides of the bed because of her surgery, I thought of this as another one of our idiosyncrasies.  After all, our children think we’re kinda weird.  Well, I just learned that we’re not alone having problems sleeping after changing sides of the bed.

In the last issue of “Bottom Line  Personal,”  the Editor’s note referenced a book summarizing research on sleep disorders.  The author (unknown because my copy of Bottom Line was thrown out) describes his research on changing sides of the bed.  It’s triggers a common sleep disorder.  Sometimes, problems can last for weeks.  Couples often switch back before becoming accustomed to the new side.

If you decide to switch sides, the author recommends considering it an experiment.  That might take the pressure off and make the switch easier.

I guess we did okay with our switch.  We’re not weird after all.

Seasoned Man

stevelem117@gmail.com