February! Hand feeding Wild Birds & A Poor Left out Squirrel

Wow, it's February already!

Time really flies when you're not doing much outside of working and living a simple homelife.

Not that there's anything wrong with it. I still have a strong desire to go traveling somewhere. Lyndon and I have been watching a lot of documentaries and shows featuring places around the world. Like the Scottish comedian Susan Calman and her series where she travels around Scotland (Secret Scotland). She really cheers me up, and cracks me up with her endless enthusiasm. I started following her on Instagram and Twitter for that reason.

I've also been going for walks regularly as I can. Some news in my life - I've finally managed to hand-feed wild birds. Something that I've always wanted to do, but either never got around to it, or just don't have the patience to do. As a child I remember feeding seagulls in the front yard by chucking out pieces of torn up bread. Sometimes I wouldn't have the patience to wait, and left the bread pieces on the lawn unattended, only to be told later that the seagulls showed up and ate them all. Sheesh.

But it always seemed like something that I could do, but just had to plan for. Bring the seed, make sure you're ready, and have the time to wait for birds to show up. A few pointers for those who haven't done it, it took a few tries before the birds either got used to me or realized that I wasn't a danger to them. I also avoided looking right at them, but more of peripherally watched them at first just so they wouldn't freak out at having this bug-eyed human with those giant things on her face that make its eyes even bigger and scarier. Having the seed in hand and ready to go really helped too.

Anyway, I made a few videos of my experience.

That was my first attempt. The next couple of times things got easier, and the chickadees seem to recognize me now. Maybe it helps I'm wearing the same clothes? I'm not sure. Same walking poles for sure, so they can hear my poles squeaking in the snow.

I made this video as well, as a humorous observation of the squirrel, which was not really my target animal to feed, but obviously wanted some food, too. I found it interesting the chickadees really wanted him to go away, because as soon as he started to eat, they started to alarm call. I'm not sure if they were alarm calling for it, or the two people who were walking by the lookout point, or alarm calling for me. Either way, the squirrel eventually left, and the birds managed to finish eating.

The other hilarious thing was that I ended up feeling bad for the squirrel being kind of left out, and then ousted on top of that by the chickadees. When I walked back to head home, I stopped by the feeding station again, and this time left two almonds that I carry around in case I get hungry on my walks. I figured the chickadees are too small, they wouldn't try to eat the almonds and the squirrel can have a decent snack. As I started to walk away, I glanced back and saw one chickadee land and pluck up one almond and fly off, and a second later a second chickadee landed and picked up the other. Ah well, it's just fate then.

Can't wait to see what happens on my future adventures feeding the birds.

2021...some reminiscing to start it off about Safaris in Tanzania

I imagine most people are hopeful that 2021 will be a better year. I am too. Supposedly the vaccines are on their way, and people in high risk places are getting vaccinated. That's a good thing. I am looking forward to when my turn finally comes around.

Like most people, I haven't been traveling since all the travel restrictions and lock-downs have occurred. I am grateful that the majority of my life hasn't really been affected. We don't really go out that much, but I miss going out for a nice meal once in a while. And I can still get out and go for walks, which is a nice bonus. I also miss being able to travel. We talk about where we're going to go first when we can travel again. After visiting family back in Manitoba, of course. And it'll be a while before I feel comfortable flying on a plane.

Hard to believe it's been almost a year since I was in Tanzania with my sister. We went there to participate in a medical mission in a rural area. It was great. I made sure we got there with a few days extra to go on a safari of some of the popular parks. I also really wanted to visit Ngorongoro Crater, where you can see just about every African animal you would want to see.

I also made a few videos of our tour:

Ngorongoro Crater

My sister and really enjoyed watching a wildebeest giving birth. I couldn't get good footage of it, but it was pretty amazing. Our guide was patient enough to wait until the calf got up on its own feet, ready to face the world.

We also saw three rhinos, which was pretty amazing. And we got caught in a rainstorm. Some of the tracks were pretty muddy, and our driver used his vehicle to help push a stuck vehicle out. The drivers really impressed me with how skilled they are at driving in difficult terrain.

Lake Manyara

We never spotted any of the famous tree-climbing lions, but we saw lots of elephants, giraffe, and baboons.

Tarangire National Park

I remember getting eaten alive by the tsetse flies! Make sure you bring bug spray if you visit. As far as I know the ones here don't carry sleeping sickness. I really enjoyed spotting a Secretary bird striding through the tall grass, looking for snakes to eat. And part of my lunch was stolen by a sneaky monkey! My sister bashed it in the face with her lunch box!

If you get a chance to go, I highly recommend taking a few days to tour the parks. You're pretty much guaranteed to see something neat!

While we were on the medical mission, we also toured the nearby village of Terrat and surrounding areas. Like in much of rural Tanzania and Africa, it's common to see people herding their livestock down the roads. I managed to capture this close encounter with cattle and sheep and goats.

Hope you liked the videos! If you have any questions about what the medical mission was like I would be glad to share more info - leave a comment.