This week I saw the best looking Calabaza pumpkins (aka West Indian pumpkins) at Fresh World. I did not buy one, though I did buy a butternut and two acorn squashes. Above you can see their holiday decorations outside the store. I have been thinking about filling a cornucopia. I ended up finding two of them in our garage.
This display of colorful scarecrows got me to thinking about the history of scarecrows. Their history dates back to ancient Egypt, though I am sure they did not look like these. Then of course, the word scarecrow makes me think about the life-like one in The Wizard of Oz. He wanted a brain, though he proved that he was not brainless through his actions. Confidence in his abilities was what he really needed.
Scarecrows of one kind or another have been used by many cultures throughout history to protect their harvests from the bird thieves and bird vandals. This has been a battle since humans began to cultivate the land and grow crops.
The scarecrows above do not look very scary and I wonder how effective they would be in protecting crops. I have read that it depends on which species of bird you are trying to scare. Scarecrows can be effective against blackbirds and a few others. Scarecrows are fun and can be stylishly dressed to make a decorative statement despite their ineffective ability to scare off birds.
Yesterday late afternoon I was busily cleaning around my house when I looked out the kitchen window and saw a big hawk on a bird feeder pole. My cell phone camera was used through the kitchen window with screen, so the picture is not a good one. The size of the hawk compared to the feeders is worth showing you.
My cell phone camera does not begin to compare to my DSLR camera that has been packed away.
I unpacked my Nikon camera and had to change the macro lens to a longer lens. By the time I got back to the window, the hawk was gone. I will post a picture of another hawk taken through my dining room window with screen during a snowstorm using my Nikon, so you can see the difference.
As you can see the hawks look different. The one from yesterday did not have any orange or rust coloring. It was strictly brown and white and its eyes were yellow and not orange. I believe the one on the bird feeder is the same one I saw a week or two ago in the crepe myrtle closest to our patio. I did not get a picture that time.
I have pulled out my Gitzo tripod and am seriously considering setting it up in our dining room. I used to always have my Nikon and tripod set up ready to take pictures. It seems like this was in another life. Perhaps I can recreate that same state of readiness for this winter season.
In any case, the point I wanted to make here is that the Hawk spreads much more terror among the backyard birds than a scarecrow. The hawk can kill and does kill with a deadly swiftness. The birds did not return to our feeders until this morning.
movingforwardslowly 