It was finally cold enough to break out the peanuts. The blue jays were dive bombing the feeders for the little birds and creating chaos. Every winter, I hang the peanut feeder, and the jays will empty it in less than an hour. Every summer, I find peanut shells scattered throughout my 10-acre property. I smile to myself as I contemplate the thought process of a blue jay - saving peanuts for another meal at a later time.
I can’t remember if it was last year or the year before, when a peanut shortage challenged my feeding efforts. The pandemic created all sorts of shortages, but I doubt any shortage of bulk peanuts made the news. In any event, I know I paid quite a bit more to keep my blue jays happy.
I’ve just completed my second full year of retirement. I prefer to say I’m in the second year of a new chapter, as the word retirement seems to imply a life made up primarily of leisurely mornings with coffee and the paper, afternoon naps, and travel… lots of travel. I realize I’m a bit young to have taken this rather drastic step. My friends who are older and retired are taking fabulous trips all over the world. They worked longer and were able to save more. Some were rewarded with bigger pensions. I’m a bit envious.
But I digress…
In my latest meeting with my financial planner, he expressed a bit of concern with state of the financial markets. Most of my “retirement” income is drawn from money I saved, much like the blue jays save their precious peanuts. He suggested that, until the economy begins its rebound, I might want to limit “unnecessary spending.”
I promptly spent $100 on wild bird food.
When I first moved to my country property, my primary goal was to transform it from a mowed golf course type place, to an environment supportive of birds and other wildlife. I’ve spent quite a bit of money to do so. While I don’t fill the peanut feeder every day, on the days I do, I watch the breakfast crowd from my kitchen window and accept that a beach getaway is not in my immediate future.
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The $100 on wild bird food was money well spent 🙌🙌
Campo Jac
There are a ton of birds down here right now flying south for the winter. It's a bit colder in Texas right now than usual and I think it caught them off guard!