Peanut- butter pinecone poetry

A large plastic jar of peanut butter was damaged in shipping and some of its contents spilled out, rendering it inedible. The shipper's policies did not provide for refund or replacement of food items, but the incident turned out to be positive for the birds. 

Conveniently, our small White Pine had produced its first crop of a dozen female cones. We stuffed the spaces between the bracts with the peanut butter, affixed a wire and hung two of them near the bird feeders. 

Bluebirds, chickadees and Downy Woodpeckers took a liking to the novel food source and I had to replenish them  within a few days. The suitable locations for them were off to the side of the windows, so my images of this female Eastern Bluebird were very poor:

About a week ago, both pine cones suddenly disappeared at once, wires and all, probably early in the morning or late on a gloomy afternoon.  Perhaps squirrels or crows were the cone-snatchers, although I never saw these critters visit them.

"Cheeri-o cheeri-lee! 'Twere not me," sayeth the bluebird. The squirrel put on his most innocent face and the crow beat a hasty retreat, refusing to answer questions :

I entered all of the above text in ChatGPT 3.5 Artificial Intelligence program and requested that it be interpreted in verse. Below, I share with you the amazing results, unedited, verbatim. It took the program less than two seconds to write this poem...

Pine Cones and Peanuts

In a tale of woe, a jar took a blow,

Peanut butter spilled, what a tragic show!

Shipped with care, or so they swore,

But alas, the peanut joy was no more.

No refunds or swaps, the shipper declared,

Our peanut dreams shattered, no one cared.

But wait! A twist, a turn of fate,

For birds of the air, it was a feast so great!

Our White Pine, in the yard so fine,

Produced cones, a gift so divine.

A dozen cones, a peanut delight,

A plan hatched to set things right.

Stuff the cones with gooey treasure,

Hang 'em up, a peanut-filled pleasure.

Bluebirds chirped, "This is the life!"

Chickadees joined in, no need for strife.

Downy Woodpeckers, with a tap-tap-tap,

Savored the treat, a peanut mishap.

But lo and behold, the cones vanished one day,

Wires and all, mysteriously they flew away.

Who's the culprit, the cone mastermind?

Squirrels or crows, a mystery we find.

Bluebird cried, "Cheeri-o cheeri-lee!

'Twas not me, as you can see!"

The squirrel grinned, innocence on its face,

While the crow, in haste, left no trace.

A heist in the trees, a peanut caper,

The birds innocent, the true takers in paper!

So in the garden, the peanut saga unfolds,

With squirrels, crows, and birds in the cold.

A peanut mystery, unsolved to this day,

As the critters scatter and fly away.

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By the end of November, flocks of American Robins had gleaned all the fruit from our 5 ornamental crabapple trees.  I had hoped they would leave some for the Cedar Waxwings, but the latter species disappeared completely in early November. Last winter the waxwings visited our holly bushes as late as mid-January. 

It was fun watching from the upstairs kitchen window as the robins squabbled over possession of the cluster of  three small crabapple trees. They seemed to be intolerant of others of their kind who landed too close by, so there was a great deal of chasing back and forth as others waited their turn in the nearby trees. Poor light on overcast mornings posed a photographic challenge:

A few Blue Jays joined in the feast:

Our Ring security camera caught this image of a strange Gnome-like face, in the inverted view of a conical juniper bush:

Well, that about does it for two weeks of fickle weather without outside walks. Freezing nights and high  winds were punctuated by warm rain and two days with record-breaking high temperatures of up to 61°F (16.1°C). Except for this iPhone shot of a very foggy morning on December 11, all my photos this time were taken from inside the house:

For my Reflections meme, once more I must glean the archives. On December 15, 2013 I was clearly visible in this squirrel's eye:

This week's header: Foggy morning December 11, 2023

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Linking to:

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

Garden Affair

All Seasons

Image-in-ing

Nature Notes

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World
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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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