I’m all in on the idea that it’s a slippery slope to embark on an out-of-the-box exercise plan for a new year resolution, at least for finding one that sticks for the long haul, so I don’t normally do so. But, I think I’ve stumbled upon a way to make it work. While we pondered the drifted snow waves on the fence that have gradually disappeared, our empty nest family hit upon a surprisingly enjoyable exercise plan for 2023.
How’s that for a stream-of-consciousness kind of run-on sentence/paragraph? I’m on the fence about it too 🤣 But this picture fits nicely with the paragraph, right?
Anyhoo…it leads me into telling you about an out-of-the-box gift from a friend that has kicked off the best exercise program for 2023 – for our cats, not us humans. It is the type of exercise program that wears the brains of our cats out so they nap all afternoon. Plus it holds them in their stalking poses which has to be building muscles too.
All eyes have been frozen on this delightful little window bird feeder.
When I showed it to Mr., we both had doubts we could find a proper place for it. I saved it in the box, just in case I had to break the news to my friend that I regifted it. Turns out, I didn’t do that. Instead, it has become a well-loved gift to help the cats plunge into the new year with exercising fun for all of us.
Since our windows are slide-by with screens on the outside, and the all glass windows are too high to reach, it took us a while to agree upon a spot to hang it. We decided on our stationary side of our sliding patio door. I had seen the bird feeder in action on my friend’s window, so I was positive our cats would get a kick out of it as the birds kick out the bird seed.
We waited weeks for any bird action to happen.
The first birds to arrive were the woodpeckers. The small ones were fine and seemed to enjoy the new feeder. They were quick to eat and run. Tizzie froze in place the first time a bird landed on it. She was instantly intrigued and all in for a daily dose of exercise watching whatever bird arrived next.
But, then, the arrival of the prehistoric-looking gigantic female Pileated Woodpecker almost broke the deal…and the half-circle window above the feeder. Did you know that the male and female can only be told apart by a red streak on their face? That’s how I knew this was the female.
Mr. came up with a hanging CD solution that has deterred any repeat visits from her at least. The Pileated Woodpeckers still peck at the cedar siding, but they know they can’t fit into or on the window feeder. The suction cups for the CDs have failed a few times, but that’s beside the point. The suction cups on the window feeder work surprisingly well!
When the chickadees and the finches (House and American Goldenfinch) arrived and returned daily, it made the exercise program a wholehearted commitment for us all.
The female Cardinal even joins in on the fun. She seems to scare the smaller birds away momentarily, but they return after she leaves.
Tizzie loves to watch her – she stays on the feeder for a long time.
Just look at all the fun Tizzie has been having, she’s claimed this chair for her viewing spot. She jumps up and down throughout the day.
And Dessy enjoys the bird shows too.
And, yes, I’ve gotten my exercise running back and forth grabbing my camera, and taking way too many photos. Mr. gets his exercise shoveling the deck and filling the feeder.
I’ve even spied the rabbit attempting to exercise or find grass before plunging back under the deck for cover.
The birds seem to pose before they leap off the railing or fly up to the feeder.
This bird gave me the tail. . .
And a wink and a nod before heading off to the feeder for a snack.
The mess on the deck and furniture the birds are leaving behind is a future topic for discussion though. . .until spring I won’t even think about the exercise I’ll get cleaning up the mess!
Post Inspiration – Linda G. Hill’s prompt for #JusJoJan and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “out of the box.” Write about the first thing that comes to mind when you think “out of the box.” Enjoy! And Terri Webster Schrandt’s Sunday Stills January 8 – Plunge.
PS – Dessy and Tizzie being quite competitive want to know if you have stuck to your exercise plan for 2023. Have you tried a window bird feeder before? If so, which birds are your favorites to watch? Are you thinking what I’m thinking that we’re going to have a crop of sunflowers growing under our deck this summer? Or that the rabbit is going to be very fat eating all the droppings or it’ll attract MICE?!?
I love all the wonderful critter photos, Shelley, they are so adorable! Mr. Bunny is cute too. The first photo shows what a great artist nature is. I never make resolutions of any kind because they are always tossed out very soon, so what’s the point! Happy 2023, guys!
Hi John! Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed the critter photos.
It is amazing how nature provides such details!
I’m a tosser on the resolutions too. 😁
Happy 2023 to you too!!
I’m going to extend exercise credit to you for getting up and taking all these beautiful photos. You have some great ones, Shelley. I love the bunnies and the Pileated Woodpeckers.
Thank you, Dan! It’s been fun to watch the birds and the other critters in the yard. They show up nicely against the white background.
Isn’t it fun to watch the birds come to your feeder!?! We spend hours sitting at the table in the breakfast room watching them come and go. We are getting eaten out of house and home though, they are little pigs! Not to mention the squirrels. But I digress. I love your window feeder, everyone in your family, cats included, is going to be mesmerized. And the cd idea was a good one too…we have some issues with birds crashing into the windows. We found that if we left the blinds down, but open we had fewer mishaps. Yesterday, though, a little goldfinch flew into the kitchen window. I went out and held it for awhile, then brought it inside in a box to rest in a warm spot. She flew away about half an hour later. I felt so good that she made it. ANYWAY, my favorite image of your set is the back of the goldfinch. My birds turn their backs on me regularly too1
You have a perfect spot in your home to get great photos, I’m jealous! Your close-up of the female Cardinal is stunning!!!!
Yes, I know what you mean by them being little pigs when they eat. When I filled the feeder today I was astonished at the mess below it and how much they waste when they’re scrounging for their favorite seed or peanuts.
The CD seems to be helping…for now. Even the little juncos haven’t crashed the window since the discovered where the feeder was. When we had a metallic lined blind there the birds never crashed into it.
Aw…that lucky little goldfinch, so nice of you to rescue it.
I’m glad you liked the goldfinch photo too. I was happy I had my camera there to catch the close up shot before it flew off, it’s rare they get that close to the window.
What a great idea for the window area, Shelley! We have no cats to exercise, but Brodie would lose his mind and bark incessantly. I’ve been scattering black sunflower seeds for our two foragers–the northern flickers and black eyed juncos who love to eat them off the top of the snow. We also have swallows in the spring who do NOT like a swinging birdhouse (they’re not swingers, LOLL), so you reminded me to work on that project. I have some birdhouses that we can install under the eves of the outbuildings. And yeah, what is it about the birds showing their tails? Do they know we are photographing them? Just like kids!
My girlfriend that gave me the feeder has a dog who barks at her feeder when the bigger birds start pecking away at it. Ollie sounds like he’s really protecting the house when she video tapes him.
Aw, that’s nice of you to spread out some seeds for those birds. I do see the b-e juncos on our deck picking up seeds after the others flick them out of the feeder. They’re such cute little birds.
That reminds me…I’d like to get some birdhouses out too – the bluebirds and the swallows do like houses that aren’t moving in the wind. I can imagine they’d freak out living in a tree that’s moving in the wind.
Yes, I love that comment, they are just like kids. 🤣
What a fun gift! And those birds pose just long enough for you to catch them with your camera. My exercise regimen isn’t quite as fun. I started doing pilates-type HIIT workouts (free on YouTube) every other day. I’m only 4 videos in but I already feel my flexibility and balance have improved and I’m feeling muscles I hadn’t felt in years! Now I just need to keep it up for the remainder of 2023. Hope your new year is off to a great start with all your animals and, of course, Mr.!
Hi Rebecca! Yes, if the lighting outside is just right, the birds don’t see me in the window so I can catch them doing fun stuff.
YAY for you – that’s wonderful that you’re doing pilates and HIIT. Both are so good for the body and reviving muscles that have been comfortable chilling out. I hope you’re able to keep it going in 2023 and beyond. A strong core helps prevent falls, etc. as you get old like me ;-).
I hope your new year is going well too, I’m thankful you’ve stopped by to share your good news with me!
Well that’s a good way to get some fab bird photos Shelley. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to that window or the birds.
Only downside I can see is the seed that falls on the deck will attract more mice to the house.
I wonder how the cats go watching but unable to do anything? Do they make cat heart monitors, just in case 😹
Hi Brian, yes, I agree, the huge advantage is the great photos. The downside of the attraction to mice is concerning. 🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭 I keep hoping they’ll build a little house out in the snow where they gather these seeds. I think the rabbits are eating the seeds too.
The cats seem to understand they can’t get any of the critters outside the windows. They’ve been inside cats their whole lives so all they’ve done is put nose prints on the windows. They do make the cute kitty chatter noises which is fun to hear. I hope we don’t need cat heart monitors! 🐈😻😺😹
We never really had any bird feeders on the deck, unless you count the hummingbird feeder. The birds still land on the deck, but honestly we only had one or two cats that ever showed them much interest. Of course, they were all interested the day the hawk landed on the deck railing….
While we’re enjoying this tremendously, the seeds scattered and the 💩 presents left behind from the birds may lead us to believe there might be a better spot for the feeder.
The birds do seem to appreciate the food a lot in the winter months. Hummingbird feeders are fun to have around, until they leak and there is sugar water to attract ants. We have yet to find one that doesn’t leak so we’ve stopped hanging one. I’d love to find one that doesn’t leak though, because I love watching them in action.
A hawk would be a very interesting bird to see on our deck. We’ve seen them land on the fence or the powerline poles, never on our deck though.
The kitties are sure enjoying the birds … it may not be true the other way around, but the birds are so engrossed in feeding, they don’t look inside. I have never had a window feeder but I’ve seen hummingbird window feeders. Some are unique, maybe spherical and tipped sideways, some very pretty. The Pileated Woodpecker – it’s big and is this what Woody the Woodpecker’s character is based on? I can’t say I’ve ever seen birds sitting in the snow like the one bird is. The rabbit looks chunky … it may be eating the seeds. I had birdfeeders in the backyard for years and never had mice, but a few years ago I started putting some sunflower seeds down on the sidewalk for the cardinals and Grady, a gray squirrels and I came home from walking one day and saw a mouse. Next day another mouse, a bigger one – yikes. That was the end of that because it was at the side door. Wild Birds Unlimited carries “no mess seeds” with the premise that these are seeds birds like and won’t flip out of the feeder, but you’ll still have the chaff from the seeds. I follow Wild Birds Unlimited on Facebook as the owner used to be my HVAC guy. Their bird food is pricey though. I never used the “no-mess seeds” in the backyard.
It seems that the birds come when the sun is shining on the windows so they are seeing the deck reflections instead of the cats in the windows.
I’m truly concerned about the seeds being attractive for the mice. But hopefully they’ll be content to not have to look inside for food…
The bird seed we buy seems to be pleasurable for the birds, we get it at the local Farm & Fleet. What seed they don’t like, the rabbits eat or the deer. Maybe I should make it a routine (once the snow is cleared) to sweep up the seeds and toss them in the back yard. I could do that when we don’t have SOOOOO much snow.
You were wise to discontinue any activity that attracts mice!!
I have a friend who lives in a rural area of New York and her backyard is up against a woodsy area. She gets deer all the time and they tip her feeders over and dump the seed onto the ground, then lap it up. If she didn’t post photos, I would not have known that deer eat birdseed. I hope it doesn’t bring mice – maybe mice are hibernating under all the snow?
Yes, the deer stop by and shake the feeders to get snacks.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the mice are content with the scraps and have burrowed under the snow with their treasures.
Carol’s photos had one deer up on its hind legs eating from the feeder, then another shaking another feeder. Thy eat all her plants too – she had strawberries one year and thy were gone before they bore fruit.
My dad tells me about the deer doing that at his feeders. The wild critters sure can be fun to watch at the same time they can be destructive too.
Well my friend that I mentioned with the deer also shelters and feeds feral cats and has for years. She has wooden shelters on her back deck and straw and battery-operated heating pads and heated dishes for water and food, but, possums and raccoons come out of the woods and eat the food. She takes the dishes in at night, so they are pretty brazen and walk right up on the deck to dine. She has had deer nosing around the deck as well, but I don’t think they have climbed up. The deer tip the feeders and drink from the bird baths, then lay down or lounge around in her backyard. 🙂
Wow, that’s a lot of critter activity and so fun to watch. I bet she has more trees in her yard? We’d have more deer if there was more shelter for them to hide in, I think so anyhow.
My ILs have a friend down the road from us that shelters feral cats too. My MIL has gotten 3 cats from her and she loves them all.
I think just a tree in the front yard but her backyard butts up to a woodsy area, not quite a forest, but enough for the deer to live in.
Carol tries to trap the kittens and takes them to a feral cat society. But they are hard to trap so mostly the Mama cat keeps producing her litters and bringing them to Carol’s house. Carol should trap Mama and have her spayed.
Ah, that makes sense.
Around our area, there are farms that take the feral cats to keep the mice population down. I wonder if Carol could do that? Or the spayed option seems wise too. 😉
I’ll have to ask her about farms. When she is able to trap them, she has taken them to a feral cat society shelter. They are not easy to trap though – they run up to the deck to eat and drink and go again. Their Winters are brutal like you get – she is near Rochester, NY. They haven’t got much snow this year, so no worrying about whether they go into the shelter or not.
Feral cats are hard to catch. They’re on high alert for predators.
That must be why she seldom has success with them and when one is listless and she suspects feline leukemia, she is able to trap it and take it to her vet – if it can’t be helped, she pays to have it euthanized and buries it on her property.
She’s a kind soul to help the cats on so many levels.
Yes she is Shelley. Her own cat has some issues and came home from the vet with a catheter in one leg (potassium) which she has to flush out every four hours before returning to the vet’s office tomorrow.
Oh, boy, I bet that’s a fun task. My two cats would not be excited about that at all. 😲
I read her post this morning – she was grumbling about the flushing the line and said she finally put Smudge in her bedroom and took the cone off as he was running into things and she was afraid he’d knock the needle out of his leg. She said she dropped him off again this morning at 8:00 and had a nap.
I remain in awe of her efforts.
Me too Shelley. The Detroit Audubon Society is having a birding expedition tomorrow to Kensington Metropark where Jocelyn does her still shots and videos … the draw for the expedition is the thrill of feeding birds from your hands (more so than the photographic experience). 🙂
I’ll have to check out her posts to see what she captured!
Today it was Sandhill Cranes preening and several birds snacking in her palm. 🙂
🐦😎😁🥰
My cat Scout thinks his bird feeder is the best tv show he’s ever seen! Haha. Yes, it is HIS bird feeder! He will sit in the window for hours. We attract a couple dozen varieties of birds most winters, partly because I also dump some food on the ground below for the small guys that don’t enjoy feeders (or that the bossy male cardinals won’t allow to eat). We also sometimes have other little creatures come eat and I love identifying their tracks in the snow.
I’m so glad you are enjoying your new friends!
Hi Brandi, thanks for stopping by to share your thoughts. Your Scout would fit right in with our two cats. It’d be like a cat theater.
You’re right about the bossy male cardinals – I’m thinking the female comes to this feeder while the male goes to the other one where he can rule two feeders instead of just a small window one.
What other critter tracks have you seen? I like identifying them too.
I appreciated reading your post about how you saved food from being tossed out! Very creative and resourceful!
Hi Shelley! I have found that the bird feeder is the best babysitter for Scout! He will sit in his window for hours. I trust your kitties are grateful for the new theater and will find endless entertainment.
I see all kinds of things! Raccoons, possums and deer tend to come at night. Squirrel are frequent visitors and we even have some rabbits so I sometimes leave veggie scraps out for them. I hate to see anyone go hungry!
I keep a bird identification book by the window and get so excited to see new friends stop by!!
Thanks for visiting my blog. I’m excited to see new friends visit there as well!
Yesterday, the bird feeder even entertained my husband! He kept saying, “I don’t ever remember seeing so many birds in our yard!” We’re grateful for the entertainment, that’s for sure.
I think we have those critters too, I just don’t get out in the yard by the feeder to see their tracks when we have too much snow. But that’s when I’d be able to see the tracks 🤔 I read that those critters would like cat food scraps too. I tried putting those out and some frozen veggies that we didn’t want, none of the critters ate the stuff I donated to their feeding spot. I thought that was weird.
Yay for identification books! I’m with you on seeing new friends in the yard and here at the little ol’ blog!
I’m thankful our paths have crossed!!!
Well, keep at it and you never know who or what you might find! I sometimes leave out strawberry tops, veggie peelings, etc. Sometimes that stuff gets gobbled up and sometimes it doesn’t. Maybe try again? Regardless, enjoy your new friends and remember the birds are better for your health than tv. So pull up a chair with the kitties and enjoy!!! I’m glad we have crossed paths too!
Thank you, Brandi, I appreciate your tips and encouragement!
I smiled at turn the TV off too…YES, the bird watching is way better for our health than the TV!! 😍 Cheers to you and our paths crossing again!
Have a lovely day!
Thank you, same to you!
Neighbors tried hanging CDs on the trees to dissuade birds from nesting where the neighbors didn’t want them too. Kind of successful. Love the photo of the bunny rabbit hopping in the snow.
That’s interesting about putting the CDs in the trees. This is the first year where we’ve had so much bird activity, I’ll keep that in mind if we want some of them to move on and find a different home 🤔😉
Glad you liked the bunny photo, I was happy I had my camera in hand when it hopped out to see if it was Spring yet or not. 🐇🐰
Votre jardin en hiver sous la neige offre un spectacle singulier, digne d’une série à suspens. Que ferait le chat s’il s’échappait? Vos prises de vues sont magnifiques on s’y croirait.
Merci d’offrir ce spectacle car ici pas d’hiver, pas de neige, il fait trop doux .Avoir toujours du vent et de la pluie lasse.
Hi Anne, I’m glad you enjoyed the photos and that they could bring some cool scenes for you to enjoy.
Oh, boy, if the cat escaped, I fear it would panic and scratch its way into the house. These two cats are scared of the wind and the cold so as soon as the air hits them, they back away and go take a nap. They have been enjoying getting as close as they can to the visiting birds. It’s been entertaining for all of us.
Stay dry from the winds and rains you’re having. That’s not my favorite kind of weather either.
PS – It’s nice to hear from you!
🙂