Non Birding Bill and I are currently keeping an eye on Fred the Unlucky Black Cat who recently had his colon removed while his peeps are out of town. You'll be surprised to learn that he did not come home with a colostomy bag and is doing very well. Poor Fred, he must be on his 10th or 11th life. Infections, injuries, digestive problems--everything happens to pauvre, pauvre Fred. When he first came to his current home he had an injury to his hind quarters that the vet thought was the result of an animal attack--probably a coyote. Since Fred was a kitten at the time and much smaller and the puncture wounds form a square on the side of his haunch, I firmly believe that Fred survived the talons of a great horned owl.

I checked Mr. Neil's feeders yesterday and some may recall that Ed offered in the comments section a trial of Feeder Fresh because the feeders are often a big fungusy mess when I check on them. I must say, this product works really, really well! The feeders were not clogged like normal with the Feeder Fresh. The finch feeders that had thistle and sunflower chips were a little clumped around a couple of the ports but not nearly as bad as they can be after a good downpour of rain. So, Feeder Fresh gets my approval and if you are having fungusy feeder issues, pick some up at your local bird store.

The birds are oh so forgiving out here. We didn't feed all summer long because of a spring bear issue and when we put the feeders back up in August, normal feeding activity resumed in less than a week. Most birds in back yards are not so forgiving. Just goes to show that every yard is different when it comes to attracting birds.