Stellar! Stellar!
posted in General |This week marks the annual “mow the backyard until one of us gives up” ritual. Every winter I let the backyard go hog-wild until the spring, and then eventually talk myself into mowing it out. This year, Mrs B and our neighbor S convinced me to do it, because the blackberries were threatening to invade S’s yard. And she spent two weeks last summer ripping out the thorny behemoths from her yard. I was already looking at my schedule and deciding when to do it; the ladies just solidified my decision.
One year, I actually saw a praying mantis. This year, no such luck- though I did see this opportunistic Stellar Jay. I was weed-whacking down the long grasses and then mowing over them. I could do a section, then I’d be worn out and have to take a break. When I sat down, he would swoop in and perch on the fence. He’d give me the eye, then inspect the area I had just cleared out. Then he’d zero in on some food and go to town. With all the action, it was practically a Jay Buffet.
