We had a visitor last week.
Camera Lady has a story. Many years ago in another house far, far away, she was thrilled to have her family visit her from the UK. These were her parents and an aunt and uncle. They had a wonderful time! But, unknown to her, there were things being wondered about.
It may be different now in the UK, but I didn't grow up with screens. Maybe our British friends can tell us if this is still the case. They are used in the USA and screens are on all the windows and doors. It gets hot and humid in the summer months, and it keeps those pesky buzzing things out of the house, among other things, so that we can keep our doors open to let in the fresh air. I became grateful for them as mosquitoes made a beeline for me. Nothing worse than having a mosquito buzzing in your ear, and I would get a couple of dozen bites and itch like crazy. I still get bitten but not quite as much as I have learned how to deal with them for the most part.
You can read all about screens at this link. I believe they are in Canada and Australia too, and a few other tropical places no doubt. But it took a long time for them to say anything, and only when there was an ah-ha moment when I took one off to clean. "Ohhhh!" said Mum. "We thought your windows were just awfully dirty." I was flabbergasted they didn't say anything until just before their holiday was almost over. I remember the wire-mesh 'tents' Mum put over the food to keep pests off when I lived at home. It's the same thing but on a smaller scale. Ah well!
Another time on a visit, we used this butter spread instead of real butter, one I won't mention by name, but Dad finally said a week before they left, after watching an advertisement on television, and this quite seriously, shaking his head as he spoke, "I can believe it's not butter, it tastes bloody awful!" Well, proper butter was put on the shopping list and immediately bought, so that at least they could have real butter for the week they had left on their visit, and everyone was more than grateful. These memories come up now and again, and we often have a chuckle. My parents were such dears, never wanting to overstep or hurt feelings.
One British friend I knew had bought silk plants for her house as she had what she called a toxic thumb, definitely not a green one. After one visit from her parents, she found that her Dad had been watering her silk plants their whole visit and only found this out when she went to dust them after they had left. I told her that was a lovely compliment to her because they must have looked very real. She said not really, her dad had very poor eyesight.
It was 7.00 a.m. when he arrived, not long after we had put the bird seed out. Outfoxed again! We tapped firmly on the glass and he scurried down the steps, not to be seen again. The cat had also left earlier.
Yes, they're gone!
I am absolutely delighted!
Smiling at your visits. My father at least would have told me that my windows were dirty - he was a believer in plain speech. And yes, we have screens here. And are grateful for them.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that your meat eating friends have left the bird feeding area.
Thank you Sue, so glad :) and me too. Nice to learn something about your Dad :) Being a retired police officer, mine could be too but he was also very much a diplomat.
DeleteWhat a beautiful fox! His fur and tail loo so lovely that one would think he was someone's pet! So interesting about the screens! Your story about the artificial plants is hilarious to me! So many new birds so fast! A Titmouse, female Cardinal, Chickadee, Blue Jay. Is the cat a neighborhood one? He doesn't seem to have a collar. So much fun going on at the birdfeeder today!
ReplyDeleteI agree Ginny :) I used to read this blog years ago of a lady who was given a coyote pup to take care of. He became very much a pet. I suppose I think of all my critters as pets but at a bit of a distance. I am thinking the cat is from our neighborhood. She appears so infrequently that I believe she is a house cat who escapes every now and again. In the meantime I read our neighborhood watch app to look out for lost pets. She hasn’t been one of them fortunately. Happy you had a chuckle at the houseplant story. It makes me smile even after all these years. Happy you enjoyed my post, thank you so much :)
DeletePost interessante,iscriviti al mio blog.
ReplyDeleteGrazie per la visita. Ho provato più volte a seguire il tuo blog ma non me lo permette. Ho notato che alcuni dei tuoi altri commentatori avevano lo stesso problema. Spero che questo cambierà alla mia prossima visita.
DeleteWe have had quite a lot of bird activity in our garden. There are bluetits, sparrows and blackbirds. They seem to be mating early due to mild weather. That's a good photo of the fox! There are probably foxes in the uncultivated garden behind our home too. Although I haven't seen any we're sure they're there. It's a haven for wildlife. Regarding your screens it's interesting to hear about differences of lifestyle in the USA compared with England. We have heavily lined curtains here in the Autumn and Winter months and we also have blinds in the front bay windows for sunnier days and privacy. I enjoy seeing the photos of your birds and reading your blog post news. Have a good weekend!
ReplyDeleteHello Linda, that sounds lovely! I am happy you enjoyed my post. Interesting to read about the curtains. Thank you very much for sharing that :)
DeleteThat was a most pleasant interlude at the bird feeder, Denise. Beautiful fox - cheeky chap.
ReplyDeleteI smiled at the screen/dirty windows and the 'not butter' - we don't have window/door screens but we do have 'proper' butter.
I am happy you found it so Janice :) I remember how delicious the butter is. I enjoy butter but try to keep it at a minimum these days :0 I agree about the fox
DeleteWow Denise, the fox is still on my radar in this darling post! I'm happy to see all of the feathered friends back on the scene. Your photos of the female cardinal are grand! And the sweet little kitty looking through the window is adorable. Hopefully it will be reunited with its owner. Thank you for the laugh about your Dad and butter! Sounds quite familiar to comments I've heard as well. And the window screen story is priceless. Thank you for an interesting time at the feeder this morning.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Martha Ellen and you are very welcome. I am loving having the birds back. I hope kitty found his way home too. I am glad I gave you a laugh. I get a big smile every time I think of those days.
DeleteWow, the birdfeeder sure is a busy place these days. You had so many different visitors.
ReplyDeleteLoved the story about your family visiting and your "dirty" windows. My mother never would have kept quiet if she thought my windows were dirty. She was always very quick to criticize.
It certainly has been lately :) Thank you for sharing Ann, and happy you loved my dirty window story.
DeleteYou have some interesting visitors Denise. I am glad the birds are back at the feeders.
ReplyDeleteTake care, have a great weekend.
DeleteThank you Eileen, much appreciated and you have a great weekend too :)
Wow! I am so envious about a visit from a fox! I just love how they look. I'm looking forward to more bird conversations around the feeder.
ReplyDeleteThat's great, thank you Carol :) Foxes seem to have moved into our neighborhood as I take note of people seeing them everywhere on our neighborhood app. I look forward to more of those bird visits too, for many more bird conversations to come :)
DeleteLove all the birds and fox! He's so pretty!
ReplyDeleteLove your photos!
Happy weekend!
Donna
Very happy you do Donna and thank you :) He is a pretty one. that's for sure. Happy weekend to you also.
Deleteafter all these visitors I am thinking you might need to change the name of the Bird Feeder to something more appropriate. Birds & Critter Feeder? Wings and Furs are Welcome Feeder? I love the blurred and sharp together and miss being able to do that with a proper camera, its hard to do on a cell phone.
ReplyDeleteI love your titles Sandra, it seems to be heading in that direction doesn't it? Mind you I have always had critters around here. Not so much when our sweet pooch was around but she's been gone for years now, and the birds and other critters started arriving several months later. My blurred photo was the one with the zoom lens and I still couldn't get it in focus! Need to take a few lessons. Maybe YouTube? :)))
DeleteHaha! Love the stories about your dear visitors and how they reacted to screens and fake butter and the story about watering fake flowers. Fun memories. We don't see foxes here so that is something to see! Happy Saturday to you.
ReplyDeleteDoes me good that this made you laugh Ellen, thank you :) Sometimes the real life stories are the best. Happy Saturday to you too!
DeleteHappy Saturday!
ReplyDeleteAnd to you also Christine :)
DeleteI love your new visitors! I noticed that on the places I visited in England this time, including the house we stayed at. I do love screens -- they make all the difference in the world!
ReplyDeleteThat's great Jeanie and thank you for the info on what you noticed in England. I have to say I grew to love screens when I realized they kept the peskies out of the house :)
DeleteI'm very surprised to see the fox at the bird feeder. However, it makes sense as foxes will eat almost anything.
ReplyDeleteI was too, truth be told Red. We used to have kits living in the drainage area at the front of our garden on the road. They would pop out as they got older when their mother was out hunting. I was over the moon when I spotted them that first time. And then a new family appeared every year for two or three years. Maybe this one is connected in some way?
DeleteOh, this has been a fun read! Did you not have mosquitos when you grew up? Were flies horrible without the screens? I loved reading these stories.
ReplyDeleteYou always make my day Rose, thank you :) About your question, I don't ever remember mosquitoes when I was growing up but much to my surprise when I checked on google, they said there are 30 species of them and only one can carry the West Nile Virus. Who knew? Not me! So thanks very much for the question as I love finding these things out.
DeleteMimo wszystko piękni goście odwiedzili karmnik dla ptaków. Ptaki nie były bezpieczne w ich obecności . Udanego weekendu życzę:)
ReplyDeleteTo jest bardzo prawdziwe. Odradzam im wizytę poprzez stukanie w okno. Szybko wychodzą i przez jakiś czas nie wracają. Dziękuję i Tobie również życzę udanego weekendu :)
DeleteStranger family sounds dear. You have a real talent for engaging with your stories and images. The fox really excited me!
ReplyDeleteAloha to you. We will move forward. Grateful for every day and not catastrophize. Bless you
Thank you Cloudia, they were very dear and I always loved being around them because they never failed to make me laugh and smile. Between my mother, dad, aunt and uncle, there was contagious laughter. The time with them was always too short. I'm glad you enjoyed my post and I wish you a wonderful weekend my friend. Bless you too :)
DeleteNot only were screen on in UK houses, Denise, but when we visited Tuscany on our recent trip, they were not on any of the hotel windows either. Perhaps this is common in many other countries as well. Like yourself, I am a magnet for mosquitoes, even when we used to sit on our VA porch surrounded by citronella candles. Amazing to see that fox return to your backyard feeder.
ReplyDeleteThat's very interesting Dorothy. I am loving the fact that you are traveling and have enjoyed your posts very much. Thank you my friend! I think in our hotter climate it might have been more of a survival thing to start using screens. Those mosquitoes and other pests can get really big. We have long black wasps flying around in the summer also. I certainly don't want to have those angry little blighters inside the house. I always get excited when our fox visits, even though I don't encourage him to stay very long. I was surprised he wasn't in his den by that time, but when food is readily available, even birdseed which I didn't realize they would eat, he was probably happy for an extra meal before he made his way back to the den :)
DeleteThat fox is an awesome visitor! I bet the other critters did not care of it though.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jim and Barb :) I know you are right on that score.
DeleteWe watch several UK TV shows. They have beautiful open patio doors. I envy this. We've way too many bugs to do that here in Ontario. I always shudder when I see that, and then feel envy.
ReplyDeleteHello Jen :) I remember an aunt and aunt had something like with wide open doors in the summertime when we used to visit. After all these years, I couldn't not have screens now.
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ReplyDeleteIt is a dangerous world for most of us
Thank you Roentare, even in the back yard our birds have to be aware of their surroundings.
DeletePobre zorrito. En mi pais es muy típico de la costa los mosquiteros. Te mando un beso.
ReplyDeleteGracias por tu comentario. Me pareció muy interesante tu información. te mando un beso :)
DeleteAt least the birds were happy to see the fox go.
ReplyDeleteGood post, Denise and yes, we have flywire on windows and doors, most people do.
Thank you Margaret, very interesting it is called flywire over there. I enjoy learning these differ names for things :)
DeleteA lovely post and as always it has me smiling.
ReplyDeleteNo window or door screens here but ALWAYS proper butter.
All the best Jan
Oh, that fox does not look happy at all. Those were cute stories, Denise. Isn't that something you didn't have screens on the windows growing up? And that cat peeking through the window has the prettiest eyes. We always remember those heartwarming stories from another time and place. : )
ReplyDelete~Sheri
one day, we opened our front door to find a fox sitting on our welcome mat. they are quite common around here!! i enjoy these clever stories!!
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