Another Memory Recalled

After living on the Palms Road mini-farm for a while, I got the idea of putting up a bluebird house. There was a big push on at the time to bring more bluebirds back to Michigan and I wanted to do my part. There was a double benefit to having them on the property: they were beautiful to look at and they exclusively ate mosquitoes (of which we had more than our share).

Now, the farm had, at various times, rabbits, chickens and pigs, which meant a lot of spilled feed, which likewise meant a lot of rodents. To combat these, we employed a small army of farm cats who lived in the main shed and went in and out through a small cat door I had made. It even had a little roof to keep the rain out of the shed.

So, in putting up the bluebird house, these cats were a definite factor. The house had to be on a post in the field, so I bought a nice cedar fencepost and set it out back. To cat proof it, I took some tin, wrapped it around the middle about half way up and nailed it on, so the cats couldn't climb up the post and couldn't jump up past the tin. A new bluebird house from Quality Farm and Fleet set on top and we were in business!

It took a while at first, but finally the bluebird house had some tenants, and then some baby bluebirds. I was thrilled! But, the bigger miracle was yet to come.

Now the farm consisted of just two acres and there was a wood fence that separated the front from the back, just about midpoint. So (at that time) in front of the fence was the house and grass and in back were sheds, "Our Blue Haven," a camper my wife brought with her when we married, a huge vegetable garden and fields. So, with that much grass, I needed a riding mower (I think the first one was a little one that came from my Dad's house).

Later that summer, when I was cutting grass, I noticed the bluebirds flying circles around my head. Diving and darting, they would fly very, very close to me! And, they repeated this every time I cut the lawn in the backyard. I was sure that somehow they knew it was me who put up their safe little house and were performing their amazing acrobatic tricks to thank me. I was humble, yet proud!

Sadly, it wasn't long afterwards I was reading an article that mentioned this phenomenon and I learned they were just chasing and eating the mosquitoes I was kicking up with the mower...