The Wings of Eagles, but More Importantly the Talons and Beaks

JJV's most recent post got me thinking, although JWT was quicker on the draw. Falconry could be the ultimate weapon in JWT's and my perpetual War on Squirrels. While there are indeed Bald Eagles in the area we could probably get by with the ubiquitous Red-Tailed Hawk,* and since our hostilities are purely local we wouldn't need horses, to say nothing of a giant Wehrmacht castoff. However, I suspect that if Montgomery County considers farmers markets such a threat they would look askance in a very real and legally binding way on hanging out in your yard with a buteo perched on your forearm. Although it would be seriously badass:


Meanwhile in Virginia I'd bet that even Falls Church would think twice about allowing this sort of thing. Arlington might allow it if we pitched it as organic.

Check out the secret lives of our feathered friends here, although I see in New York the terrorists have already won.

*Dirty trade secret the eagle lobby tries to suppress: You know that great SCREE you hear whenever an eagle shows up in movies etc.? Some Red-Tailed Hawk working for scale supplied that. And JJV would take their union cards away if he had the chance. Which side are you on, boys, which side are you on...

Update: Hey kids, you can learn about falconry at Hershey Park! As fate would have it, we are spending Easter weekend there, so this will be worth investigating. "No no no, the eggs, not the bunny! OK, get the kids in the car NOW."

Marsupial Mercenaries Enter the Fray

As part of the continuing saga of the Global War on Squirrels (and vice versa), JWT reports that our fluffy-tailed nemeses appear to have recruited allies who apparently will make the ultimate sacrifice to achieve victory.

Meanwhile, in the Nobody Wins Department, our peanut feeder appears to have blown away during last week's high winds on New Year's Eve.

Dagor Brethilnariath

As mentioned previously, a couple of weeks ago I put up the birdfeeder that my parents had given us as a housewarming present. At first we thought we may have located the feeder too close to the house, as for the first week there was no sign of any visit by any creature, although I did see a squirrel first note the baffle placed on the feeder's pole, check out the distance between our windowsill to the feeder, then scamper off, no doubt to report to his superiors.

Finally, last Sunday we were visited by chickadees, nuthatches, tufted titmice and a song sparrow. Also, five of the fattest squirrels I have seen in my life, two of which had managed to drop onto the roof of the feeder via our back roof or jump from the aforementioned windowsill.

However, I was ready. More to the point, Gracie was ready. I opened the side porch door and, literally, unleashed the hound, whose first thought as she leapt forward was probably along the lines of "Thank you God!" Not surprisingly, the squirrels have returned but I am more than happy to give Gracie an actual job (apart from her chosen task of harassing the children by lying across doorways).

Here Gracie maintains her occasionally sleepless watch over our lands:



Lest anyone think I have been slacking off, that was taken at the start of Raking Day.

And for those of you are wondering, the post title is Elvish for "Battle of the Tree-Rats." Obviously it would sound better if spoken by Cate Blanchett or Liv Tyler, neither of whom look a day over four thousand.