Hey, I’ve got dibs on that peanut!!

Posted on April 5, 2018 by Linda Schaub

TREATS.jpg

I’ve been doing the two-step all week long … as to my walking regimen anyway.  That would be “one step forward, two steps back” and it’s all due to Mother Nature, who is still trying to get her seasons sorted out.

I walked Monday.

Tuesday was a rainy and stormy day and night.

Wednesday was not so bad if you liked walking in a wind tunnel.  I was bound and determined to get my steps in, since it was the first Wednesday in April, a/k/a National Walking Day.  The raindrops pitter pattering on the patio roof when the alarm went off didn’t make that trek sound too promising, but, by the time I was ready to leave, the ferocious wind had dried up the pavement, not unlike a jet dryer at the NASCAR track.  I walked, but just two miles, and stayed in the neighborhood due to the high wind.  The streets were rather deserted since the kids are on vacation.  Usually the week after Easter I see drawings adorning the sidewalks, the handiwork of kids who found fat pastel chalks in their Easter baskets and are eager to become cement artistes.  However, there have been no pastel chalk renderings, no doubt due to the crummy weather … maybe once it warms up some more.

Thankfully today was bright and sunny and mercifully no wind, so I set off to Council Point Park.  Since it was only 29 degrees, I was still wearing my heavy Winter squall coat which is great for walking on the path along the Ecorse Creek.  When the cold wind blows, the bare trees and bushes allow all the wind to buffet the walkers while they are on the perimeter path.

The squall coat is also great for hauling all my paraphernalia to the Park.  It has some secret compartments and hidey holes, plus two big cargo pockets to stuff with Ziploc bags brimming with peanuts.

But this morning I was toting a new “treat pack”  – safflower seeds for the cardinals.

You may recall that recently I wrote a post entitled “Nutty Buddies” where a male cardinal flew down from a tree after he spied the peanuts I was doling out to the squirrels, so I gave him a few of his own.  I was lucky enough to take some pictures of that beautiful bird.

After publishing that post, a fellow blogger, Thomas Peace, who writes a nature and mindfulness blog, (https://tom8pie.com/ ), suggested I don’t feed the birds peanuts since they might have Aspergillus that birds are extremely vulnerable to.  So, I got some safflower seeds just for the cardinals.

Safflower seeds are great because the squirrels don’t like the taste, so they can be strewn on the walking path and the squirrels will leave them alone.

Cardinals, however, enjoy safflower seeds.  Years ago, I had a pair of cardinals build their nest in a barberry bush.  Through my binoculars at a back window, I could watch the female and her young.  I bought safflower seeds as they are a treat for cardinals.  We had a ritual when I came home from work every night.  Once she saw me coming up the sidewalk, she’d fly down to the cement patio near the barberry bush.  Meanwhile, I went into the house, dropped off my tote bag and came out with a small Dixie cup full of safflower seeds which I spread out for her.  It was as if that cardinal was my pet, just like Parker, my squirrel pal at the Park.

So … remembering the cardinal’s penchant for safflower seeds, I bought a bag, as you see above.  I filled some Ziploc bags to just grab-and-go.

I had divvied up fresh peanuts in Ziploc bags for the squirrels as well.

As I meandered along the perimeter path this morning, a squirrel came rushing over for a treat.   I scattered some peanuts for him, but who should come down to nosh on them but the cardinal.

CARDINAL.jpg

I know this is not the best picture of the cardinal, but considering I had to stuff the bag of peanuts in my pocket, then get the camera out of its pouch, I was lucky to get this one shot of him opening his beak, anticipating that tasty treat.  There were actually two male cardinals that swooped right down from the tree, and both misappropriated a peanut for themselves.

I’m sure the squirrel, happily munching the first peanut from his perch in the tree, was taken aback, having climbed up there secure in the knowledge that those peanuts were all his to enjoy.

SQUIRREL

Alas, I never had time to pull out the bag of safflower seeds.

Well, I tried to do the right thing.

I’ll try again tomorrow, that is as long as Mother Nature doesn’t bring that one or two inches of snow we’ve been hearing about for tonight’s forecast.

I wrestled with a title for this post … do I call it “Tidbits and Treats” or “Yummies for Tummies” … in the end, I decided to just go with what really happened, i.e. “Hey, I’ve got dibs on that peanut!!”

 

About Linda Schaub

This is my first blog and I enjoy writing each post immensely. I started a walking regimen in 2011 and in 2013 I decided to create a blog as a means of memorializing the people, places and things seen on my daily walks. I have always enjoyed people watching, so my blog is peppered with folks I meet or reflections of characters I have known through the years. Often something piques my interest, or evokes a pleasant memory from my memory bank, so this becomes a “slice o’ life” blog post. I respect and appreciate nature and my interactions with Mother Nature’s gifts is also a common theme. Sometimes the most-ordinary items become fodder for points to ponder over and touch upon. I retired in March 2024 after a career in the legal field. I was a legal secretary for almost 45 years, primarily working in downtown Detroit, then working from my home. I graduated from Wayne State University with a degree in Mass Communications (print journalism) in 1978, though I’ve never worked in that field. I would like to think this blog is the writer in me finally emerging!! Walking and writing have met, shaken hands and the creative juices are flowing in Walkin’, Writin’, Wit & Whimsy. I hope you think so too. - Linda Schaub
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45 Responses to Hey, I’ve got dibs on that peanut!!

  1. Ann Marie stevens says:
    April 5, 2018 at 10:07 pm

    Miss Linda……………………..you are a wonder-woman photographer………………..I like the cardinal with his mouth open and the squirrel bulging his mouth with the peanuts…………………………..I’ve seen chalk pictures around here but the rain washes them away the next day…………………I’ve picked up stray chunks of chalk that kids left behind and everyday write a word…………………..to try to catch one of the little kids to write me back……………………

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:
      April 5, 2018 at 10:18 pm

      Thank you Ann Marie – I know that cardinal was not as close-up as the last one, but I could hardly wait to upload the picture and see if it turned out. Suddenly the two male cardinals came down on the path and I was “unprepared” for them. You know the squirrels are usually on top of their game, but one had scurried off to bury a nut, the other one was up in the tree figuring he could come down any time and retrieve another one. The joke was on him! I gave him some more peanuts. I’ve not seen a single chalk drawing, but someone on the cross street threw a dozen of eggs and broke them in the street. I saw it Monday morning. All that rain washed away most of it but the shells remain. It was quite a mess on Monday morning. I like that you do that with the word and seeing if they write back. It’s soon time for people to start hiding rocks – I’ve not seen any yet at the Park. Too cold I suspect. I hope we don’t get snow tonight.

      Like

  2. Anne Mehrling says:
    April 5, 2018 at 10:51 pm

    If you see a chalk drawing, could you take a photo of it? My children used to like drawing on the driveway. That was a long time ago.

    That’s too bad the cardinals stole peanuts when you had a better treat for them. Maybe next time.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Michael says:
    April 6, 2018 at 6:53 am

    I’m thinking those two keep an eye out for you now you know they’re look rather familiar I reckon they’ve got some sort of system where they keep track of the likes of you with some animal version of WordPress and they spread the word that you’re carrying snacks

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Jill Wellington says:
    April 6, 2018 at 8:27 am

    Awww, love your cardinal photo! We just got 3 inches of pretty snow. Did you get it, too?

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:
      April 6, 2018 at 8:06 pm

      Jill – we lucked out and there was just a light layer of very wet snow on the grass and bushes, so I was able to get a walk, just in the neighborhood, as I didn’t want to chance walking at Council Point Park in case any of the trail had black ice – it is slick down there by the water’s edge. I saw a picture someone posted of all the snow in your neck of the woods and told myself “Jill will be happy as she’ll get those Winter pics she has been longing for.”

      Like

  5. Trail Walker says:
    April 6, 2018 at 3:47 pm

    Really good capture of the cardinal with his beak open. We did NOT get the predicted snow, and I hope it doesn’t happen. I’ve seen enough snow for this season. Have you ever taken “Bark Butter Bits” to feed the birds. They really seem to like them.

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:
      April 6, 2018 at 8:13 pm

      Thanks Carolyn – I was lucky to be able to get that shot after fumbling around to grab the camera after I saw the first cardinal swoop down. When I published this post, I went to Reader and saw your post about the birds enjoying their treats you gave them and thought here we are, making the birds’ day and getting a smile on top of it. I’ve never heard of “Bark Butter Bits” so I’ll Google it and get some. I know when I fed the backyard birds that they used to love those Birdola bars – they’d go crazy for them. We have a new Wild Birds Unlimited store opened up last Fall – it is about 10 miles from me. The owner was my former HVAC tech, and he and his wife were excited to get the franchise and opened their store. It had been a dream of his for awhile. We had another WBU store in my part of town, but it closed down years ago. .

      Like

  6. Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog says:
    April 6, 2018 at 5:36 pm

    Wonderful pics! 🙂 A couple of nights ago, one of our two parrots, Scarlet, while watching a Sesame Street video while they counted to six, following six, said “seven.” I then said, “Smart bird!… You get a sunflower seed treat, you said the right answer.” Then Tweetie, our other parrot, said, “I did too!” I said, “No you didn’t; you didn’t say anything.” Tweetie then said, “I did too!” I said, “No you didn’t.” Tweetie: “Yes I did!” Me: “No you didn’t.” Tweetie: “Yes I did!”
    Brother! 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    • lindasschaub says:
      April 6, 2018 at 7:53 pm

      First, I knew you’d get a kick out of the post since you suggested to stop with the peanuts and feed seeds instead. I was quick on the draw to get that picture because it seemed only seconds elapsed after the first cardinal swooped down out of the tree, followed by the second one. My wool gloves got stuck on the Velcro on the inside of the coat pocket, I dealt with the peanut bag, got the camera out of the pouch and still got the shot just before the big bite!

      I love that story of your two parrots and am going to cut-and-paste it into an e-mail to my friend Ann Marie who has the African Grey parrot. I always cut-and-paste my replies to her since she is the only one of my regular subscribers who routinely comments on my posts. Those birds are so smart. My mom had luck teaching our parakeets to talk over the years. One was named “Skippy” and she taught him to say his whole name and then she said all day long she’d hear “I’m Skippy Schaub, I’m Skippy Schaub” … they are like having kids around.

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Uncle Tree says:
    April 6, 2018 at 6:45 pm

    Dibs? Dibs? 😉 I can see the kids now, googling for a definition.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Iriowen says:
    April 6, 2018 at 8:50 pm

    Safflower seeds are a great idea, I bet those cute little cardinals won’t have to compete with those adorable squirrels for peanuts anymore. Now everyone goes home happy.😄

    Liked by 1 person

  9. MeRaw says:
    April 7, 2018 at 4:46 pm

    Great photo of that squirrel.
    x 🐿️ x

    Liked by 1 person

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