Life from the birdfeeder, in Olean, mourning a bird lover and singer
By Chuck Wiser, I write the words to share what my eyes see and my heart feels
“Tis the season…” is a common Christmas time chant or greeting and at that time is significantly cheerful. At the Wiser’s Wramblings Wriver Wroad Wresidence it is a very meaningful aviary experience time that is both heart warming-lifting and also a promise of generations of aviary friends to continue.
When the adult Cardinals, Rose Breasted Grosbeaks and Baltimore Orioles have hatched a new brood in the early pre-summer or summer days, they bring their fledglings to the feeders to wean them away from having to be “beak to beak” fed in the nests. This is immediately apparent to us as we hear the “cheeping/chirping” and hear the beatings of the wings as the fledgling’s flutter for attention. The adults will bring the fledglings to the feeder and respond to the initial fluttering with a sunflower seed reward. After a couple of rounds of that the adult will come to the fledgling but without a seed to pass on but then return to the place where the seeds can be found. It doesn’t take long for the fledglings to recognize the small “black oil” sunflower seeds laying there in that strange wooden box and pick one up, crack it with their beak and extract the “meat.” From then on they are on their own. This “aviary season” seems to have been especially abundant with offspring.
One interesting sidenote, at least to me, is this year’s arrival or return of an obviously twin pair of Grosbeaks. One never comes to, nor leaves, the feeder by itself. Where there is one, there is/are always two. They chirp and chase and chow down on the seed.
In years past we’ve had an occasional “cat bird” visitation. These are a slate gray medium sized bird, and legend has it that the sound they make as they “chirp” is that of a cat “mewing.” I can’t hear them, but my wife can. I have an “audio defect” that mutes, or doesn’t tune into, a certain highly pitched sound. I’ve mentioned before that every once in a while, my neighbor Don Kear will send me a phone message that my golf cart is still parked but in reverse gear, and it makes a beeping sound. “Beep-Beep” isn’t reserved for just the road runners, those of the children’s (for the most part) cartoons. “Wiser’s Wreverse” is just as annoying…so they tell me. No problem hearing the Grosbeaks though as they have a very loud, distinctive “CHIRP.” I know because one is chirping at me as I sit outside, writing this, much too near their feeding station.
One last note on our feathered friends. Apparently certain Grosbeaks must be “friended” by the residents at their wintering homes, as a few of them have no fear of humans invading their “space” as they visit our feeders. I can walk right up to within a very few feet, talking to them all the time; and despite an occasional glance over at me they keep right on chowing down on the seeds.
Leaving the aviary topic, I might as well dive right in and swim my way through the next topic. That might be easier than my “pool time” this year. I might as well be playing the “Billiards” type of pool, as trying to spend time in my swimming pool. Last year, the pool liner needed replacing and I thought the expense wasn’t worth it since I was its lone occupant.
I was prepared to, and in the process of, putting it on the market to see if I could sell it. My wife intervened and said, “Keep it, you know you’ll miss it”.
She knows how much I enjoy it despite not languishing in its refreshing, cooling waters for long periods, and thus, convinced me to have it relined and to keep it. Completely to appease her (if you believe that) I did keep it, had it relined and put it into operation for the 2025 “swim season.”
Each year it seems the pool re-opening and/or recommissioning gets a little more difficult. I’m pretty sure (wink, wink) it has nothing to do with my age or my recall of where all the hoses, attachments, components etc. are stored in our shed, nor the aging of some of those components, but it is a challenge. This year’s main challenge has been the early season operation of the pool filter system. Neoprene rubber gaskets are getting old, and several changes of them over the past few years has shown the wear and tear. One particular area this year has been that of stopping a leaking “O-ring” gasket of the pump filter area. A purchase trip to Pool Mart in Olean resulted in a gasket that was slightly too large to work properly. I did find, and order, the specific “O-Ring” from an online supplier. But, it won’t be here till this weekend. In my impatience, I decided to try to fix the old ring gasket which by now had separated (through a couple of poorly executed installation attempts) into three parts. Tractor Supply in Wellsville had a “Super Glue” that was supposed to work on that type of rubber. The illustration on the front of the package showed a re-glued, two-handed arm pulling, four strand, stretching, arm strengthening device, showing the broken bands re-joined by re-connecting them with this glue. That sold me so I made the purchase.
I had to add glue to one end of the 3/16” diameter rubber cord, push the two ends together and hold in place for 10 minutes to complete the bond. Then I had to re-connect the two halves the same way. I did so and although I’m not 100% sure that the alignment is perfect, but it looks good, passes my stretching test, and seems functional. Now I have to decide whether to re-assemble everything, test my repatched gasket, or just wait until tomorrow or Saturday for the new O-Ring. If you know me, and my impatience, you might guess as to what I’ll do. I won’t give my wife a vote in the decision as you know what I say…”A one to one vote isn’t a tie, between married couples.
The Genesee Valley Chorus (GVC) has a busy week and weekend coming up, but sadly it starts with a mournful service for the recently departed member Melody Fanton who passed away this past week. Melody has been a faithful member of the chorus for most of its existence and not only will her beautiful song voice be missed, but so too, will be our missing her beaming smile, and cheerful greeting to each and all as we gathered for practices or performances. In recent years I have also missed her helpfulness and friendliness often encountered at my many visits to the David A. Howe Library where she was a fixture at work for so many years. Melody’s voice and friendship were truly a melody to all who knew her.
Up next for GVC will be the singing to celebrate Melody’s life at the grave side service Monday, June 22nd; and next; to join with Norene Ferris’s singing group Mosaic for a concert in Bolivar, NY on June 24th, for which there will be a practice on June 23rd.
I will have a little more music in my heart on the 24th as that will be just a year shy of my 60th wedding anniversary, and the birthdate of my wife’s mother. Those dates didn’t coincide accidently by the way. I never forgot my MIL’s birthday.
Chuck Wiser writes his weekly from the banks of the Genesee River in Scio NY, you can reach him anytime chuckwiser@roadrunner.com
