I feed the birds all year. Not a lot in the warm months, just enough so they won’t forget me. Mostly chickadees and sparrows come to partake in the seeds and grubs, but the other day I heard the melodious squawk and gurgle of a blue jay. Perched on my rail was the blue beast.
I know blue jays like peanuts, so after getting peanuts, I put a few out. The next day they were gone, and I repeated the action. Again, I did not see the culprit, assuming it was the blue jay, but it could have been the squirrel.
Now, there is no free ride for the birds—I wasn’t prepared to have an all-you-can-eat-buffet. They have to work for it. By work, I mean they have to overcome their fear and be able to co-exist. The chickadees have eaten out of my hand, and last fall, some flew into my apartment to chirp at me for not refilling the bowl.
I heard the jay outside, so I placed a peanut on the rail and sat and read. Moments later, a blue streak came in for a strafing run, and I heard the “ting” of claws on metal as it grabbed the peanut in mid-flight.
Mystery solved.
Today’s Inktober:
See previous day’s Inktober drawings here: Inktober
From my blog this week:
Free Book Friday: Oct 1 – A few new options
Thursday Thoughts: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
One-Liner Wednesday: Humorous Quotes – And then some.
Weird Wednesday: Directionally Challenged – And the return of “The Untitled”
Tuesday Tirade: Newer is better? – Sometimes.
Monday Musing: 12 and 12 – All things equal for a while.
From the blogs of other’s:
‘A Novella Collection’ is FREE This Weekend – Supporting Stevie’s weekend promo
Have a good weekend!
-Leon
Contact me:
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
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Lines by Leon 
Thanks for the link to my blog, Leon. I always feed the birds in our garden. Sometimes the squirrels take the suet from the feeders though.
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I may have to make an executive decision. The blue jay is becoming a little belligerent when there are no peanuts, and way to loud. Worse than the crows. I think I’ll have to cut him/her off.
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Ah, shame!
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I know. Such a beautiful bird, but too much attitude.
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