DEAR JOAN: I had to respond to last week’s question about smelling the strong odor of skunks. I believe what she is smelling is most likely cannabis.
Plants have started their flowering cycle in this area and the fragrance of high-grade cannabis is very similar to that of skunk spray, hence the name “skunk weed.”
Just thought I’d help “clear the air.”
Nancy
Bay Area
DEAR NANCY: I’ve lived such a sheltered life.
DEAR JOAN: I have two bird feeders on my front porch. They each have three long tubes that I’ve always filled with wild bird seed and sunflower seeds. This year the birds practically ignore the bird seed and polish off the sunflower seed in record time, and that’s with two tubes each filled with the sunflower seeds.
The mess below gets piled up, not to mention the mess on the porch. There are plenty of uneaten sunflower seeds thrown down to the ground along with the hulls. I see doves and squirrels a lot on the ground.
When I say piled up, I mean piled up. I’ve taken to buying 40-pound bags. Of course, I enjoy watching the feeders with all the birds, but seriously.
Another mystery involves a glass birdbath I bought a while back. The glass bowl has a beautiful butterfly in it. I have never once seen a bird on it. I thought maybe it was because I had a hanging water container nearby, so I moved it to the backyard. Still no bird on it. Do you think they don’t like the bright colors of the butterfly? Any ideas?
Carol Sanford
Morgan Hill
DEAR CAROL: Birds vary their diets just as humans do. A lot of their preferences have to do with the time of the year. In the spring, they may prefer the bird seed as it mimics what they find out in the wild and it is what their bodies are craving.
As autumn approaches, birds often will turn to the sunflower seeds for the oil in them. This will help them fatten up either for their migration or to help keep them warm during the winter.
Sunflower seeds are an important food for wild birds, but they are going to make a mess. Even if the birds didn’t spill the seeds, there still are the shells to contend with. It is best to locate those feeders in an area where you can easily clean up the mess with a rake or a broom. The other option is buy shelled sunflower seeds. You’ll still have some spillage, but the doves and squirrels will do a better job with the cleanup. The real plus, however, is no shells.
As for the mystery of your birdbath, the problem is with the bath itself. We love pretty things for the garden, but birds just want functionality.
They like shallow bowls — if the bath is too deep, the birds can’t touch the bottom — and plain, dull colors.
It’s probably not the butterfly nor the colors, but the glass, which is slippery and offers the birds no secure foothold.
The answer is to put a large rock in the middle. Look for one that resembles the Rock of Gibraltar — high on one side and sloping down toward the water on the other. This will give the birds a nice perch from which to dip their toes, and bodies, and more importantly, will give them some traction.
You also can add some rocks and pebbles in the bottom of the bowl, but be sure to clean it often. Those little rocks tend to get really slimy and nasty.
Contact Joan Morris at jmorris@bayareanewsgroup.com or 1700 Cavallo Road, Antioch, 94509. Follow her at Twitter.com/AskJoanMorris.
