Deterring Pigeons as well as Mice; and Chilling Bottled Beer

It's been nearly three weeks since I've been present on HT as I've been spending my time preparing for (and ultimately hosting) a visit with a friend (who now lives in Seattle with her husband), she can be seen (left) with yours truly on the carousel at one of the Chelsea Piers in New York City (as seen in the image below).
The day we took our ride, "Que Sera Sera" was the song that was playing, but as I have not seen my friend in over fifteen years, "Circle Game" might have been the tune that "shoulda" been playing:
"Yesterday a child came out to wonder
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder
And tearful at the falling of a star
"And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game
"Then the child moved ten times round the seasons
Skated over ten clear frozen streams
Words like when you're older must appease him
And promises of someday make his dreams
"And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game
"Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now
Cartwheels turn to car wheels thru the town
And they tell him take your time it won't be long now
Till you drag your feet to slow the circles down
"And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game
"So the years spin by and now the boy is twenty
Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true
There'll be new dreams maybe better dreams and plenty
Before the last revolving year is through
"And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game
And go round and round and round
In the circle game."
But then again, painted ponies were not going up and down, rather it was the carousel's non-traditional animals* which are replicas of those found in the Hudson Valley, including an array of birds such as the falcon my friend is riding.


The falcon is not the only bird represented on the carousel in Chelsea, there are a number of other winged creatures there, including a blue bird (the state bird of New York) which can be seen in the second image (posted below).


More photo-ops (half dozen that were taken in bygone years when my sister was visiting and also when my bike captain celebrated a birthday at the carousel) of the Chelsea carousel's animals can be viewed on one of my Pinterest boards @ http://www.pinterest.com/thellgardener/new-york-mostly-places/
Meanwhile Cam (my visiting cardinal) was relieved that my friend was visiting as she wanted a break from the writing we have been doing on our book ("Words in Our Beak").*


As long as her feeder was filled she enjoyed her time away from the camera and computer, as you can surmise from the image below, where she can be seen noshing on snacks that I have placed in a make-shift feeder that I have devised to deter pigeons from grabbing all the food from the smaller songbirds.


[* http://www.hometalk.com/diy/outdoor/garden/the-writing-of-words-in-our-beak-3708453]
If you follow my posts on HT, dear reader, then you know I have written about a number of bird feeders that I've tried in my garden,* but at this point, I've given ALL of those feeders to friends as well as family, and I am now resorting to the simplicity of a saucer mostly filled with black-oil sunflower seeds (that I replenish continuously) which is atop a clay pot that is under a cage-like structure that cardinals and song birds can hop in and out of.


I designed this to limit the number of pigeons that were taking away the food intended for smaller songbirds and this arrangement seems to please Cam, but, she was not happy about the fact that among the birds represented at the Chelsea carousel, cardinals are not included!


Perhaps not being represented in the Chelsea carousel is an issue that Cam will take up in our book, but it may be a moot point for none of the birds that visit my garden have a replica on the merry-go-round.


The house finches, house sparrows, mourning doves and pigeons that visit my garden all seem to be content with their lives in spite of the fact that they are not represented on a merry-go-round.


They can be seen in photo-ops below (arranged alphabetically by their common names.)


[* To refer to my numerous (15) HT entries on bird feeder, please visit my HT "directory" @ http://www.hometalk.com/thelastleafgardener/posts. My bird-feeder related material was "published" here on HT during July and August of 2013.]
The male and female house finches (pictured above) have been featured in my posts on Blogger and tumblr, to read them please visit the following links:


http://www.thelastleafgardener.com/search/label/Finches


AND


http://thelastleafgardener.tumblr.com/search/finches


Moreover my house finches were featured in a Virtual Story (mini movie) called "Meet The Finches!" It's on Vimeo @ https://vimeo.com/45931811
The male and female house sparrow (pictured above respectively) have been featured in my posts on Blogger and tumblr, to read them please visit the following links:


http://www.thelastleafgardener.com/search/label/Sparrow


AND


http://thelastleafgardener.tumblr.com/search/sparrows
The mourning dove (pictured above in two photo-ops) has been featured in my posts on Blogger and tumblr, to read them please visit the following links:


http://www.thelastleafgardener.com/search/label/Mourning%20Doves


AND


http://thelastleafgardener.tumblr.com/search/mourning+doves
Pigeons (pictured above in two photo-ops) has been featured in my posts on Blogger and tumblr, to read them please visit the following links:


http://www.thelastleafgardener.com/search/label/Pigeons


AND


http://thelastleafgardener.tumblr.com/search/Pigeons


At this time of all the urban birds that visit here the bluejays seem to be the ones that are preoccupied with family matters, for it appears they have three or four new additions to their family, and although I have taken a number of photo-ops of this, I'm only featuring a few of them below.
I hope to include other photographs of the bluejays siblings in the book, but since Cam is writing it with me, I will need to get her approval.


Meanwhile bluejays have been featured in my posts on Blogger and tumblr, to read them please visit the following links:


http://www.thelastleafgardener.com/search/label/Blue%20Jays


AND


http://thelastleafgardener.tumblr.com/search/Blue+Jays


At the moment Cam does not have bluejays on her mind, for she is going through the many photos we have of her beau Mac. He is reminding us both of Jimmy Stewart ("Rear Window") because of his interest in what is occurring in the apartment across the courtyard from my garden as evidenced by the image posted below.


To read more about Mac's fascination with the neighbor's window and to see more photo-ops of this phenomenon, please visit me on FB @ https://www.facebook.com/TheLastLeafGardener/posts/682217158494327
Cam and her beau have been featured in my posts on Blogger and tumblr, to read them please visit the following links:


http://www.thelastleafgardener.com/search/label/Cardinals


AND


http://thelastleafgardener.tumblr.com/search/cardinals


Moreover Cam was the star of a one woman show! It's on Vimeo @ https://vimeo.com/46157152


When Cam is not going through the pictures that she and I would like to include in our book or discussing our musings, she takes a power nap (as seen below).
She seems comfortable with napping now that it appears my garden has been rid of the mice that were living in the digs (container) of my Smoke Bush* as well as my 'Tamukeyama' AKA Japanese Maple** (pictured above).


I had not realized this — mice making homes in the containers of my flora — was occurring until Juan V, my gardening comrade and I repotted my Smoke Bush. I'll spare you the details of what happened when he discovered 25+ mice there, but I will say that my Smoke Bush (not seen in this entry) now spreads its roots in a container built by my local lumber store.


I do plan to write about my Smoke Bush's new "home" as I think the way it was constructed will be of interest to urban — as well as container — gardeners within the HT community, so please stay tuned for that story.


As for the mice that had been there once Juan eliminated them, we came up with a remedy to deter any of their friends from paying my garden a visit.


I now rub pure peppermint oil on the rims of the containers in my garden and I sprinkle a spice (crushed peppers) on the soil.


These remedies seem to be working and I thought this would be of interest to HT readers who want to deter mice from their surroundings.


But there is another remedy that might interest you more, dear reader, and that remedy has nothing to do with how to deter pigeons or mice that might be visiting your garden; rather it has to do with how to quickly chill a bottle (or more) of beer so you can enjoy a refreshment there.


When my friend was visiting, she suggested we pick up a few beers at my local deli so we could cool off after a day of traipsing around the city. NYC has an array of domestic and imported beers to offer and most of the delis offer a wide assortment to suit any palate. However because these beers are in "refrigerators" where the doors are being opened and closed constantly, they are not always as cold as one might desire.


Therefore a how-to-chill-a-bottle quickly method is of upmost importance to those who suffer from a need for instant gratification.


The solution to putting a quick chill on a bottle of beer which has been partially chilled in a store's (or deli's) refrig is to wrap the bottle in a wet paper towel and stick it in the freezer for one to two minutes.


This method works for chilling wine too but in this case the wine does not even need to be pre-chilled!


So, dear reader, there you have it, a way to deter pigeons and mice, as well as a method to treat yourself to a chilled beverage after a day of touring summer visitors or working in your garden. CHEERS!


* Entries re details about the Smoke Bush shrub can be found within the following links:


http://www.thelastleafgardener.com/search/label/Continus%20Coggygria%20%28Smokey%20Bush%29


AND


http://thelastleafgardener.tumblr.com/search/Smoke+Bush


** Entries re details about the Japanese Maple ('Tamukeyama') can be found within the following links:


http://www.thelastleafgardener.com/2013/07/what-flora-knows-re-time-passing.html


AND


http://thelastleafgardener.tumblr.com/search/%27Tamukeyama%27


Both of these flora types were featured in my first garden themed movie, "The Kiwi Speaks! Fifteen Minutes of fame . . . almost," on Vimeo @ https://vimeo.com/37027072


Moreover an array of pictures of all the flora that grows in my garden as well as an array of images of the birds that visit it can be found in a number of my Pinterest boards @ http://www.pinterest.com/thellgardener/
TheLastLeafGardener
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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 5 comments
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Jul 24, 2014
    The peppermint oil mouse deterrent is such a good idea.
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    • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Sep 19, 2014
      @TheLastLeafGardener That is certainly an engaging cover for the book. I hope your situation is soon resolved happily.
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