Friday 2 October 2009

dogs guarding fruit crops...not!

Where was Penny when this cheeky thief arrived to steal our cherry blossom?



Lucky for him, she wasn't here while he was stripping the cherry blossoms from our trees! I'm sure she would have seen him off in quick-smart time, because he was sitting quite low in the trees and she would have stretched up high and really, really scared him. Or tried to...

Hmmm...but he was rather tame.

Even when I threw firewood at him (and yes, I was trying to get close!) he just moved away for a few minutes until I went inside, and then sauntered back to continue his thievery. (Can birds saunter? I think this one could.)

All those beautiful blossoms, gone in an instant!





I did convince him to fly off, but there were only a few blossoms left.




16 comments:

Slavenka said...

I know it is normal to you, but for me,to see this bird outside the cage is very exotic.I would love to see it in my yard.

Unknown said...

Oh, he does look VERY cheeky!! :-)

Charlie said...

Penny, where were you?!!
- C

parlance said...

Honey, he's very cheeky! He has the nerve to think his needs are as important as those of dogs and humans, lol.

My friends across the valley feed him and his mates and when I'm there I'm just like everyone else, oohing and ahhing about his beauty. And then I come back to my garden and my viewpoint changes!

parlance said...

Charlie, she was slacking off!

parlance said...

Slavenka, I must admit that I actually love these birds and feel thrilled to see them in my tree.

I've had the cherry trees since 1981 and I have had ONE cherry off them!! This is the first time I've realised the birds eat the blossoms - I always thought they ate the little fruit.

I sort of don't mind the birds eating the crop, but I wish they wouldn't eat it all.

JD and Max said...

Hi Penny - well, a dog's gotta snooze sometime, which was probably when the sneaky bird struck! He he - oh well, sometimes we miss our cue which is why we like having such understanding owners, he he he! Schnauzer snuggles - JD and Max.

parlance said...

JD and Max, From reading your blog, I think you might be experts on snoozing, so I'll excuse Penny for missing out on doing her job.

Johann The Dog said...

Cheeky bird!!! I hear that some folks put big, big nets over their trees to keep the birds from eating the blossoms and berries. BTW - I herd birds, and am for hire! BOL!!!!

parlance said...

Johann, the things is that we're not there all the time and I'm scared one of these beautiful birds will get caught in the net and die. It happened at my friend's house.

Everyone keeps telling me the nets are safe, but I can't get over the other bird's slow death.

Johann The Dog said...

Oh, slow death...never thought of that! Yes, I agree hangy things may work!!!

curator said...

Parlance, I must say I do envy you such a beautiful robber - AND that you had cherry blossoms on your trees! It is fall here, and I love fall but I am not ready for it. I am sorry for your blossoms being gone though.

i said...

Cheeky and handsome! Look at his colouring! Maybe Penny is being friendly :-)

P/s: Oh yes, LS said she's glad too that she wasn't the only one who blundered on the crate ;-)

parlance said...

Happy, I think maybe he is trading on his beauty, knowing we couldn't possibly hurt him. Or, if he's especially smart (parrots often are!) he might know he's a protected species, lol.

parlance said...

Curator, what I really think is that instead of putting out seed for these beautiful creatures, I am planting fruit trees for them, lol.
Having said that, though, I'd have liked to get more than ONE cherry in twenty years!

parlance said...

I've got the Christmas tinsel out and I'm going to try it, Johann.