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F ³: Skyhook


 

A funny thing happened on the way to 2021. After I was diagnosed for ADHD and began taking medication, I mysteriously started doing things my mother did throughout her adult life. There was no conscious effort. One day I simply realized I was doing them. Notably:

  • Doing crossword puzzles 
  • Making the bed daily
  • Reading murder mysteries
  • Feeding the birds
If you’ve read the blog long enough you’ll know that becoming more like my mother has never been a goal of mine. Fortunately, these new habits were benign.

Of the four, the last one has proven to be the most challenging. Birdseed is not cheap. You have to keep buying it. The bags are heavy and you have to store it someplace that is both convenient and does not annoy your spouse. You have to fill the feeder regardless of the weather. 

Still, the rewards are many. Here are a few.




You will become engrossed in the lives of your daily visitors. You may even begin to ascribe personalities to them.



But then there is The Dark Side.


They come by day.




They come by night.


You may think you have found a solution. It will last less than twenty four hours, if at all. 

Friends, I love deer and squirrels. I understand they need to eat, too. But I simply cannot afford to feed all of them and the birds, too. 

When we had to move out for a while this summer, I put the bird feeding on hold. I told myself I’d restart at the first frost. But I still haven’t solved my problem. This looks promising.





But how do you fill the dang thing? I have days when reaching up over my head is downright painful. A ladder? That feels like a lot of added effort. 

Give this set up an elevator function and a remote. I’ll buy it. Who am I kidding? If it were possible to buy this with an elevator function I could not afford it. 

But I have tried affordable options. I have McGyvered creative solutions. Now I want a skyhook. 

Wanted: a birdfeeder that hangs so high that squirrels and deer are outsmarted, once and for all. Plus, it must be easy to clean and to fill. I don’t care if it hangs on a fictional hook, levitates, spins, is protected by a force field, or an invisibility cloak. 

Winter is coming. I have birds to feed. So send me your suggestions - - I’ll probably be reading murder mysteries or doing crossword puzzles. (After I make the bed.)





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