greener pastures

Whenever given the chance, Starbuck liked to escape and take a look around the neighborhood. Not so bad in a rural area (where he saw the turkeys and ignored the deer) but much more of a worry in urban areas. Luckily, he was more interested in lush landscaped areas and the creatures they tended to support, thereby limiting his wanderings off-road. He usually found a weakness: a loose gate, enough room under the lattice if he dug far enough or a new visitor that didn't know his habits and made full use of it.

Now, it wasn't so obvious as putting on his pack and heading out the door. The photograph is, of course, posed with his dog backpack but he seems to look so sad, like he was ready to run away from home. It was probably more that he didn't like to wear anything and what something like a pack - filled with dog biscuits, a collapsible water dish and a first aid kit - might portend afield. If the bell was not enough!

I think he may have worn this pack only once outside. Though cinched as close as practical, it distracted him as it slid back and forth with his movement. Dog boots were even worse, affecting his gait. He did best unencumbered by any gadgets or apparel, free to move as he wished.

And, sometimes he did wish to run away. The funniest was an episode where he tried to camouflage himself within a pack of Brittanys. We met them leaving the hunting area as we pushed further in. After a brief dog introduction, the four Brittanys started to move away and Starbuck followed them, wedging himself in the middle of the pack. Aside from the obvious, five instead four leaving and zero moving in, he was only one that kept looking back to see if anyone (me) noticed.

SBtv2

Starbuck moved 3 times in his life; I think he probably enjoyed the home of his puppyhood the best and his most recent the least.  By the time he got to his last destination, birds were of little interest to him. Once in a while, he'd chase the doves if they got too close but for the most part, he'd leave them be. But, then again, he was never really interested in doves.

In his second home, he was introduced to additional forms of wildlife - deer and turkeys. Oddly enough, though he had been curious about cows and horses in the past, the deer did not amuse him. He would be fast asleep on the couch and yet you could hear the deer chomping on passion fruit not 10 yards away outside. See the video in the sidebar; I think you can hear the Buckster sleeping in the background.

The turkeys were a different story. Many times, he'd sit on the couch by the window before the turkeys were visible, waiting for his "show" to start. Within a few minutes, the turkeys would tentatively pop into view. He'd scurry from room to room to view the turkeys from different windows as they progressed on their feeding route. As opposed to the pheasant family in Kaneohe, the turkeys were skittish and concerned by the dog-head shape in the window that followed them around (for an interesting wildlife live cam, see PixController, Inc.).

Once (on a "trick or treat" escapade), he crawled under the house to see the turkeys up close. By the time I got out of the house, I thought he'd be long gone but the Buckster was still in the back yard. It appeared that he was barking at a tree but upon closer inspection, he "treed" one of the turkeys and, despite its size, it was well concealed in the boughs. Where is that camera when you need it?

what, are you looking at me?

Although the bird feeder was primarily for Starbuck's enjoyment, I found myself watching along with him from time to time (well, actually, a lot). We both would lurk in the darkness under a table, side by side, and peer at the birds through the jalousie slats. When something particularly interesting happened (like the arrival of the pheasant hen and her chicks), we slowly looked at each other and tried to be quiet. His enthusiasm was always contagious and sometimes we did end up making too much noise and scared the birds away. Soon enough, they always came back, at least until the feeder was empty.

However, we didn't always find the same things interesting. For example, the Kentucky cardinals and shamas weren't that fascinating to the Buckster. They usually fed away from the action on a smaller feeder. This smaller feeder was the first to be used but after seeing the volume of finches that arrived, a new tubular feeder with multiple roosts became necessary. Even that, when filled with 3-4 cups of bird seed, was depleted within 15 minutes.

The cardinals apparently found the plastic red bird attached to the smaller feeder intriguing. The male cardinal would catch it looking at him, in a confrontational eye-to-eye posture, and they invariably ended up in pecking contests. Although the plastic bird always lost, he stood his ground, probably to the chagrin of the male cardinal, who probably demanded a more gracious loser in battle. On the other hand, the female cardinal seemed to nurture it, sometimes by trying to feed it.

And, she never quite got a thank you from the stoic, plastic ingrate.