Some (or one) of the squirrels has finally figured out how to reach the birdfeeder. I don’t know how he did it…must’ve scaled the outside wall of the house because it’s too far to jump from the nearest tree. The other day he was sitting in the tray under the feeder, filling his face with seed. Today he was actually sitting on the feeder itself. When I scared him, he leapt off the feeder, which is a good 20 feet up, and flew through the air, landing square on his feet on the ground. I was impressed, to say the least. Hopefully it’s just been a fluke, but I tend to think he’s probably out there spreading the word to all his squirrel buddies.

There have been a lot of nuthatches around and they’ve gotten really bossy. They flare up their wings and scare off the smaller birds. For some reason, they remind me of the Joker in Batman.

The mourning doves eat tons of seed. Right now there are four of them on top of the birdfeeder and another two sitting on the ledge. It’s ridiculous. They are also really messy eaters, but luckily the new tray catches most of what they dump out as they eat. I think they work in tandem: one sits on the feeder ledge scooping seed off the edge down to the one below that’s sitting in the tray. Actually I don’t think they’re bright enough to be doing this on purpose, but it sure seems that way.

I finally spotted a hummingbird at the feeder out front. That was exciting!

Yesterday I went for a 50 mile bike ride. I saw a deer, a groundhog, a rabbit, chipmunks, squirrels, and a lot of birds: the full roster of suburban wildlife. I have too much time on my hands, and I feel like I fritter it away. I don’t do anything productive. I sit and watch the birds or I ride my bike. I drink too much coffee. Sometimes I cook or bake. This morning I made a no-bake pie. It took about 5 minutes. I’m not dissatisfied or discontent. Or maybe I am. I don’t know. I just feel like I waste a lot of time. But I’m not sure what I could be doing that would make me feel better about how I spend my time. I guess that mostly I regret not writing more, but I’m just not motivated right now. And when you’re not motivated, nothing good comes out.

I’m glad it’s summer. I’m glad I’ve had so many opportunities to go on long rides. I wish my friends hadn’t left, but I know they’re having a great time.

I wish I knew what I should be doing with myself.