PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEATLAND

March 19, 2025

IT IS NOT ALWAYS EASY TO COUNT THE COST

                Our first winter at our home in Plymouth, Indiana, I made the decision to continue my practice of feeding the birds.  Two unused clothesline poles provided ready hooks from which to hang feeders.  I added a freestanding pole with a feeder attached to the top and two hooks for additional ones to complete my feeding station.

Very quickly, I discovered the birds were getting aggressive competition from a group of squirrels that lived across the creek at the rear of my property.  They made quick work of my daily supply of bird seed and delighted in knocking the suet feeders off their hooks and dragging them to parts unknown.

Several stores carried squirrel proof feeders.  Unfortunately, I do not think they were ever tested with my super intelligent brood.  The only device that did seem to keep the rodents at bay was the baffle on my free stand pole.  I also found a way to attach the suet feeders to the hooks so that the squirrels were not able to dislodge them.

Feeling somewhat sorry for the squirrels and thinking that if they had their own supply of food they might leave the bird’s alone, I started putting out on the ground a mix that was heavy with shelled corn.  The squirrels seemed to like it, but also did the deer who now made our back yard one of their daily stops.

With the arrival of spring the deer added to their menu the blossoms from my tulips.  They were joined in the daily feast first by some ducks and then by geese who found corn to their liking.

In the meantime a new problem had arisen.  Below one of my clothesline poles I had put an herb garden.  While a PCV pipe that I had put around the pole prevented squirrels from climbing the pole, I had no way of keeping bird droppings from falling upon the herbs which lay below.  This did not prove to be a problem in the winter when the plants were dormant; however, it did prove to be a disincentive when they were ready to be harvested in the summer.

As I look out at my backyard I see two standing poles, both with baffles.  On them are two suet feeders, two bird seed feeders, a thistle feeder, and a sunflower feeder.  Below them is a tray for corn and bird seed.  All that remains on the clothesline pole is a suet feeder and a thistle feeder.  We have not had any deer this year, but we have hosted birds, ducks, geese, and pudgy chipmunk.  For a while there was an opossum hanging out under my garden shed.

Echoing the Book of Proverbs, Jesus says in the Gospel of Luke.  “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it?  Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish (Luke 14:28-30).’”

As anyone who has ever started a small business knows, it is not always possible to count the cost of a project before starting.  Along the way issues will arise or circumstances will occur which will drastically change the estimate.  I never dreamed my bird feeding operation would evolve into what it is today.  I have a shed full of unused feeders that testify to ideas that did not work in my battle with the squirrels, the ducks, the geese, and the deer.

While it is not always possible to accurately count the cost, one can be prepared to make adjustments to one’s plans as circumstances might dictate.  This ability to adapt can mean all the difference between success and failure.

(This article was originally published March 18, 2012.  Comments may be sent to davidh15503@embarqmail. Com)