How I spent My 81 Day Time Out - Part 2: Wild Asses Licked My Car

[valerief]

37. Great information. Thanks for clarifying! You know, I now recall watching that cat guy

Jackson Galaxy talk about getting a house cat to trust him. He'd patiently blink slowly--if you close your eyes in the cat's presence, you're risking attack by not being vigilant. Therefore, you're telling the cat you're not going to attack and trust the cat won't attack you either. Its just what you're saying.

And the predator thing makes sense, too. I don't expect to be in the company of any wild bears anytime soon (although they're out here in Northern Mass.), but I've read not to look them in the eye.

My Nature Problem:
I've been cursed the past couple of years with cardinals bashing my windows. I put stick-ems all over the windows, which reduced the bashings but didn't eliminate them. Yesterday, I got some shiny bird repellent tape. I put it on the windows and also tied it to the hedge along the side of my house (the birds bash those windows). My windows look ridiculous BUT no window bashing this morning! What was interesting yesterday was, as I was tying a strip of the shiny tape to a branch, another little bird (some kind of striped finch or sparrow) came right up near me, perched on a branch, and watched me tie the tape. Some bird repellent! It seemed fascinated by the stuff. Ha! As long as that bird doesn't bash my windows, it's cool with me.