Let there be birds

If you saw this and thought "get ready for killer squirrels," then you'll love this:

Here's how they work: One scurries out on the branch holding the feeder and reaches down to claw at it. He shakes all the seed out onto the ground. Then his squirrel buddies (who are the size of tom cats) come rushing out of the bushes to gobble it all down. I opened the door to take this quick photo and they didn't even look up.

The upside to my squirrel-filled front yard is that there are no squirrels in my backyard. The pretty pink bird feeder is the sole property of the tiny brown birds that inhabit our neighborhood. Yesterday I saw a flash of orange and realized we'd attracted a female cardinal -- which kinda made my day. Still no pictures of birds, though. Those effers are just too fast!

If I get a cardinal on the back deck I will officially call myself a bird watcher. (Oh, and the hummingbird feeder is come soon.)