It is already Father's Day in the Philippines. Here in Northern California Fathers Day will be tomorrow and the next day will be the official first day of summer. However, since mid-April this year six Blue Jays have been frolicking with abandon in my backyard. Two are the parent birds and four are the babies. I have been feeding them with bread crumbs and rice morsels, and faithfully replacing their bird bath and water every day. The birds were very happy in my yard since then, until today.
My daughter and her family are vacationing to Florida this week. So, Macrine and I are "cat sitting" for Gimlet, the family pet cat until the end of this month. Gimlet gets so excited when she hears the sounds and chirping of the blue jays. Her ears perk and eyes stare like a tiger ready for the kill. However, Gimlet is a house cat and does not really enjoy the outside world. So she seemed content, just watching the blue jays in the sliding door screen leading to the patio outside, until today.
I started feeding the birds with bread crumbs. The six blue jays were all excited.
All of a sudden, Gimlet got out and started running after the birds. The birds were all chattering and screaming. What a sound that was..I tried to call the cat in, but she just stare at the birds, mesmerized by their chirping. After about 20 minutes, I got tired of the noise and chirping, so I decided to pick up Gimlet and brought her inside the house. Finally, there was quite and solitude. I gave Gimlet her can tuna and she is now happy inside the house and taking a nap by my side. Gimlet acts like a small puppy. She follows me around the house if she gets lonely. She likes to cuddle when we are watching TV after dinner every night.
Now for a short history on the Blue Birds in My Back yard!-Posted last year about the middle of July.
"For the last three years from Spring To Fall I have bluebirds residing in my back yard here in Northern California. They nest and play in the Holly and Pyracantha Shrubs planted as screens for the small swimming pool in my backyard.
Are blue jays common in my neighborhood ? I know my yard is the only one with four or more residents of blue jays that enjoys the water and food that I give them every day. Sometimes, I forget to give them bread crumbs or rice. They will remind me by their loud chirping, jumping and coming closer to the patio. They are getting so tame, that they stay only a few feet from their feeding station when I go out to give their daily bread crumbs or rice morsel. As soon as I put the food in the feeder, they would happily consume the food and bring some to their nests for their babies. If I gave them too much food, the leftover is welcome by a couple of residents squirrels in the yard.
My neighborhood is a subdivision of older homes from 30 to 40 years old. But I do not see too many birds in the neighborhood. Our house is still very close to the mall, shops and and schools which are populated with a lot of people during the day. However, my yard is the only one with two big maples trees and one oak tree that give a lot of shade during summer.
This week has been hot with 5 days of consecutive three digits temperature from 12 Noon to around 7:00 PM. However, as soon as the sun sets, the temperature goes down to a comfortable low 70's. By early morning, when you wake up, it is cool with temperature in the mid 60's. The temperature slowly rises, so by 12:00 noon it will be in the 90's. Today the “High” was only 90 degrees F. This morning “Low” was 65 degrees with a gentle wind, which feels very comfortable. This temperature pattern will last the whole summer. When Fall comes in September, the normal Low and High in this area will be around 55 degrees and around 78 degrees respectively. By late October, my blue birds will be gone. I will not see them until the middle of April next year. I am not sure where they spend their winter months, probably in Southern California or Mexico(definitely not in the Philippines, as Macrine and I do).
The blue jays are also a favorite of my grand daughter,Carenna. When she visits us, the first thing she would ask is if she could feed the birds. I consider these birds my pets. We have pets in the Philippines, two dogs, one cat and several chickens. But here in Northern California, our only pets are these blue jays that reside in my back yard during spring, summer and fall in this beautiful Northern California neighborhood every year. Do you also have pets in your back yard?
No comments:
Post a Comment