I went out in the garden early Saturday morning, expecting peace and quiet, and instead I heard an incredibly loud, metallic, rapid tap-tap-tap sound. I knew right away it was a woodpecker, pecking on something that was not wood. Sure enough, this little guy was way up on a rooftop several houses away, pounding on a metal chimney piece.
Evolution, I suppose, has not quite caught up with our modern era. That little bird-brain doesn't know what might have bugs and grubs and other edible critters in it, and what will not.
He (and it is a he, I'm pretty sure) didn't seem the least bit fazed by the metal. He just sat up there as proudly as could be and pounded away. I wonder what it sounded like inside the house?
I'm sure he's one of the woodpeckers we regularly see on our suet ball feeder -- so he's getting some food, at least.
I potted up the rest of the foxgloves, so now they're all dealt with, either in the ground or in pots where they will spend the rest of their lives. It's good to have that done. I wonder if I planted them too early, because it is freaking cold here -- a high of 44º F today (7º C) and a low of 33º F tonight (less than 1º C, but not quite freezing). Foxgloves are durable, fortunately.
I walked Olga -- just a short loop around the neighborhood -- and read more about the peculiar and apparently rather apocalyptic outlook of Peter Thiel. All my life I've rolled my eyes at people who insist "the end is near," but now, reading about Ukraine, I'm wondering if it's true. The Times had a story yesterday that upset me more than any I've read so far about that war, illustrating how powerful it can be to focus on a single atrocity, a handful of deaths depicted up close. The photo that goes with that story will be a Pulitzer contender, I imagine.
I don't know where this is going to go, but I do think Putin has to be stopped. Somehow. Simply possessing nuclear weapons can't give any regime a license to steamroll its neighbors.
And then I read The Gateway Pundit and seeing all those rabid right-wingers in the comments section actually praising Russia, insisting that Putin is opposing the "New World Order" and using this conflict as an opportunity to bash Joe Biden -- well, it just blows my mind and turns my stomach. I can only assume some of them are Russian bots, but I'm sure not all of them are. There are a lot of crazy people out there.
Even that woodpecker has more sense than they do.
Woody is hungry and Putin is mad in every respect.
ReplyDeleteAgreed! (Although there is an alternative explanation for Woody's behavior, if you read below. :) )
DeleteI wish that woodpecker would land on Putin's head and peck the shit out of it.
ReplyDeleteMe too, although he might die of toxic exposure.
Delete(The bird, I mean.)
DeleteThe woodpecker is probably thinking this is marvellous...not for food gathering but for announcing his presence to other woodpeckers....the louder his noise, the bigger the others think he is, so I wonder what the others are thinking!! 😄
ReplyDeleteWell, apparently there's something to that! Read the comments below!
DeleteI was listening to an interesting Israeli woman called Gali Lucy the other day and she sort of predicts the future, she was fairly accurate about 2021 and she says that we must have chaos to be able to put things right and when you think about it she is right. You can't tidy anything up unless it's in a mess can you?
ReplyDeleteShe is so hopeful for the future and says that it may take up to 7 years to get things right. I'm hanging on to that as I want my children and Grandchildren to have a better life than we have now. Hope this allays some of your fears Steve.
Briony
x
I think there IS some truth to the idea that the world swings between periods of order and chaos, with different parts of the planet experiencing those forces at different times. I'm not sure I see it all as definitively as Gali Lucy, though!
DeleteI agree about the woodpecker having more sense than some folks. And I agree that Putin needs to be stopped. (I've never seen a chimney like the one in your photo.) Enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.
ReplyDeleteThose chimneys are very common in London -- all our houses have them.
DeleteAs I see his oligarchs having their expensive toys and bank accounts taken away, and as I see Russians protesting the war in Russia and being arrested, as I see Russians having their phones confiscated on the streets so the "police" can look through them and see what they're posting, I am beginning to think someone in Russia will take him out.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm here for that! And I hope they do it before he truly goes over the edge.
I hope so. I truly hope enough resistance arises from within Russia. I worry that Putin has so effectively stifled his opposition that he won't allow it to happen.
DeleteGood morning Steve, Olga and Dave. Thanks for the update on Olga yesterday. Poor woodpecker is going to break his beak on that metal. Steve if you can remember Trump tried to get ukrane to help him steal the election and they wouldn't and he got mad at Ukrance. Now Trump is always communicating with Putin and I think that is why he stole 5 boxes of classified documents to sell to them. You heard Trump talking about fake news and now Putin is doing the same. The entire television station shut down because Putin threaten them with jail time if they used the word war or invasion. Let's put this puzzle together about Ukrane. This didn't happen until Trump wasn't re-eleted. They were saying someone need to take Putin out but forgot to add Trump alone with Putin. The world would be a better place without those two pieces of shit.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely right on!
DeleteWell said!!
DeleteI could not agree more, Angelicastar!
DeleteYes, the news is devastating and it’s difficult to avoid end-of-the-world scenarios. Remember those from the ’80s and the Reagan years?
ReplyDeleteThe woodpecker is at least lovely to look at. We had friends in Connecticut that had a woodpecker doing the same thing on a metal chimney flange on their entirely wood house. I don’t know what they did about it, but I know they lost a lot of sleep.
Oh, I remember well the fears of a nuclear war in the '80s. I used to have nightmares about it as a kid.
DeleteI have to agree with Angelicastar...Putin and Trump need to go. One way or the other. The world will be a better and safer place when they're both no longer in it.
ReplyDeleteI agree, though I also think there will always be a lunatic SOMEWHERE. It's like terrorists -- we can kill one but another will rise in his place.
DeleteIt boggles my mind when people want to believe the lies presented by Russian bots and trolls. Nice catch taking the photo of the woodpecker.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand some people, I really don't. The right-wingers of the Reagan or Goldwater years would not recognize the crazy right-wingers of today!
DeleteWoodpeckers to that to attract mate and to establish territory. I have had some occasionally over the years to that on our chimney cap and I can assure you it makes a god awful racket inside the house. I end up having to jump up, run out onto the back deck and scare the sucker off a handful or two times to finally establish that this is my territory. It will go away and leave me in peace until another male woodpecker comes along and likes the look of my territory.
ReplyDeleteMy typing is atrocious this morning. A couple "to" were meant to be "do" in the first couple sentences.
ReplyDeleteI never knew this was about attracting a mate! That explains a lot!
DeleteThe woodpecker is looking for a mate. Apparently the louder his rat a tat tat tat the more desirable he is. They only bang on metal in the spring. They would do that at the city house too.
ReplyDeleteYes, Putin has to be stopped. If he takes Ukraine he will only be emboldened. He may threaten nuclear retaliation but surely he understands that Russia would also be affected.
As I told Ed above, I never knew this was about attracting a mate. I had no idea!
DeleteWe have a resident red-bellied woodpecker who sometimes (not too frequently, thankfully) takes to our vinyl siding just under the eaves...the peck heard round the house. He's also a regular at our suet feeder which is only 15 feet from his chosen place on the siding. Still...smarter than most republicans.
ReplyDeleteRead the NYTimes piece yesterday, too. I agree with you. The photograph was heart-stopping. Heartbreaking. Defining war in all its horror.
It's not often a news photo brings tears to my eyes but that one did.
DeleteI am somewhat relieved to read here in your comments that the woodpecker was trying to attract a mate, not to find food. I wonder if he chose that particular chimney to peck on knowing that it would indeed make the loudest racket? Birds are pretty darn smart.
ReplyDeleteI have nothing to say about Putin that hasn't already been said. A madman does what a madman does. But- this whole support of Russia by extreme right-wingers in the US is a twist I did not see coming. The world is insane.
I know! It's really unthinkable, isn't it? What would Ronald Reagan say?!
DeleteThat woodpecker has much more sense than you give him. In the spring they like to make as much noise so that the females will find them. Food! He knows where to get food. Probably in a feeder nearby.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize this was a mating ritual, but that explains a lot!
DeleteI used to feel the same way about thoughts of "end times" but lately I've been thinking it could be true. Between war, climate change, disease and insane leaders things aren't looking very good for humanity.
ReplyDeleteYesterday, I went on one of those home and garden tours where I saw a gardener's dream of a potting shed. I couldn't help think that you and two other friends of mine would love to have a facility like that.
Oh, I would LOVE a potting shed. I wind up doing all our potting and repotting while squatting on the cold concrete of the patio. It would be great to have a place to store soil and empty pots, too.
DeleteLove seeing that woodpecker there, and Yorkshire Pudding's comment made me laugh out loud. Yes, that woodpecker should land on Putin's head.
ReplyDeleteWe are definitely living in crazy and dangerous times.
That woodpecker is too smart to peck on something as rotten as Putin's brain.
DeleteI get woodpeckers pecking on my home too! I wondered why they did and now I know they are trying to attract a mate! I learn so many things from bloggers!
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry about the war in Ukraine - the tragedies and terror - I am hoping for peace soon but I am so afraid for them.
That was new knowledge for me, too! (About woodpeckers)
DeleteGreat photo of the woodpecker! What type is it? The only ones I see around here are Redheaded and Pileated.
ReplyDeleteThe Times won't let me see the article without subscribing. Based on what you said, though, maybe that's not a bad thing.
Hmmmmm...that's strange. Maybe you've used up your quota of free NYT articles? I think you only get so many per week or month if you're not a subscriber. You'll see the picture somewhere, I'm sure.
DeleteIt is unconscionable what some believe and are saying. Just awful. There is a woodpecker who enjoys my chimney cap which drives me insane. (more insane?)
ReplyDeleteThey seem to have a thing for chimneys. I guess they're high up AND they're loud.
DeleteThe photo really affected me viscerally.
ReplyDeleteWe have flickers (a type of woodpecker) that love to hammer on chimneys during mating season.
Yes, the photo affected me the same way. Like a gut punch.
DeleteYes, there are. You do not have to read them.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I often think I should stop reading that site, but I am just so fascinated by the sheer lunacy -- and I think it can be valuable to know what the fringe is thinking and saying. It does give me heartburn, though!
Deletewe have a metal thing on our chimney- woodpecker loves it and the sound is magnificent , amplified down the fireplace and into the house.
ReplyDeleteShow off!
The end is always near for individuals of course especially as they get older but THIS, is different, Scorch -the- earth difference. As long as Putin alive it is a valid concern. the end is nigh. Trump could not take us out, covid tried and failed so I guess it is nukes next.The photo - I so want to un-see.
Well, I think Putin's nuclear talk is 99 percent bluff, but I do worry about that 1 percent that might not be.
DeleteI have a chimney with a metal cap, and when a woodpecker decides to hammer on it, it sounds like a tractor running in the living room. First time I had no idea what was going on, ran out and saw the woodpecker rattling away! Shouted at him, which didn't bother him. When he was ready, he left.
ReplyDeleteWe are still at the mercy of the natural world in some ways! (Which is a good thing.)
DeleteHoly s**t, The gateway Pundit, that one is as crazy as it gets. Those folks are just plain nuts. Agree with you, some are likely Russian bots, but not all, there are some really, really crazy ones out there. As far as Putin goes, I fear this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. I think we're going to have to fight him at some point, because he shows no signs of stopping. I saw that article you referenced, horrifying, those bastards are shelling civilians.
ReplyDeleteI read the GP purely for entertainment, and to know what the right-wing fringe is thinking and saying. They ARE nuts. They're basically the inheritors of the John Birchers.
DeleteWhen we lived in the RV we had a satellite dish on the roof. There was a wood pecker who loved it and pecked it a lot. The noise was amazing.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's also just fun for them, making a lot of racket?
DeleteI hope the woodpecker doesn't damage his beak on that chimney top.
ReplyDeletePutin DOES need to be stopped. Even some Russians are fleeing across the borders to get away from him.
I thought the same thing! Seems like it might be potentially damaging! I guess he knows what he's doing, though.
DeleteAha, woodpecker trying to attract a mate. I did not know that, so thank you.
ReplyDeleteI saw that Times story. Powerful and heartbreaking -- and the photo. Unbearably sad. Hope that woodpecker doesn't hurt his beak for future pecking. I love seeing them at my feeder.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, Provence 1970 -- definitely worth the time!
Re that woodpecker: I thought the same thing as you, that it must be very noisy inside the home of that metal chimney.
ReplyDelete