if it's not one thing...

Honestly. I discouraged the squirrel with safflower seed, nyger, and a generous coating of vegetable oil spray on the pole. I discouraged the strlings with safflower seed and by not putting out fruit.

NOW I have this mourning dove that's learned to sit on the ledge of the safflower feeder. Mourning doves are supposed to be ground feeders right? Well, this guy has been studying up, and while he's not graceful, he's figured out how to cram himself onto this little ledge and stuff his crop until it's a wonder he doesn't barf. I've been watching him--he doesn't eat, like the finches and cardinal do--pick up one seed, manipulate it open, eat the kernel. No, this guy just picks them up and swallows them as fast as he can. My only hope is that he gets so heavy with all that food in his crop that he gets hit by a car. I wonder if mourning doves are heavier than cardinals? I may be driven to getting that spring-loaded feeder after all!

There's another mourning dove with white tail feathers. I know mourning doves have outer tail feathers that show white when they fly, but this one looks like someone painted the last half of his tail bright white. It's so white it practically glows. That one stays on the ground where he belongs.

The suet cakes in the new suet feeder look like they're being nibbled on, and I've seen both a house finche and an English sparrow leaning w-a-y in to snag a few beakfuls, so I'm hopeful they're figuring it out.

It looks like, if I wind up needing knee surgery, I'll be home at least one week and possibly two. I've been reading as much as I can find all over the web, and it's hard to get a good idea--everyone seems to react differently to it and also individual surgeons seem to have preferences for post-surgical care. One of them said stairs were easy--just sit down and go up backwards, pushing with your arms and good leg. I think that same site said you can drive whenever you're off pain meds and feel up to it. I'll be glad to meet with the surgeon and find out what she thinks and prefers so I can make some more stable plans and also stop wondering what to expect.

I've been paying attention to the dogs the past few days, and their sense of body space is very good. The only time they brush up against me is when they get excited about going out to play. When we go out to potty they line up and wait for me to put their collars on. At meal time, Taenzer lies down on the mat where I put her food and Timber sits in the back hall, and they wait until I put their dishes down. It probably helps that they're older and not quite as squirrely as when they were youngsters. But I don't expect they're going to be a problem. I am thinking of contacting the friend of a friend to maybe take them out to the puppy pen to play; two to three weeks is a long time to ask them to go without exercise.