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Just Another Jim

Just Another Essay



Finch Farm

Essay Posted July 15, 2008 by James E. Nelson

After a couple of years considering our options Brenda finally took the plunge and got into the bird feeder business. Nik & Jer, the master bird feeders of this generation of Nelsons, were quite helpful, telling us what they’ve done, explaining some of the pitfalls, and providing pictures and a diagram of their “squirrel proof” feeder. But in the end it seems to work best to just jump in and try it yourself.

It all started in Redwood Falls, MN several weeks ago. Since we were taking the back roads instead of the highways to Bemidji, it was going to take more than one day to get there, so we stayed in Redwood Falls.

I seriously considered staying in Windom, MN. The Guardian Inn in Windom provides a one car garage with every motel room. (I’ve lived in apartment complexes that didn’t provide that level of service!) The idea of a relatively inexpensive motel providing a garage is such a novel idea that it was very tempting to stop there. But since it was June and there was no blizzard with -30° temperatures in the forecast, a garage didn’t really seem necessary. Besides, we wanted to get a bit further up the road so that we could have more time to poke around on the way to Bemidji.

And this brings us back to Redwood Falls, and more specifically the “Runnings” store on the edge of town and a few doors down from our motel. Runnings is like any number of farm supply stores across the West and Midwest but more so. From my travels I suspect it is primarily a Minnesota operation. There is nothing particularly special about farm supply stores. Most every farm town has one. Here in Sioux City we have both TSC (Tractor Supply Company) and Bomgaars. In Marysville, KS it was to Co-op. But Runnings takes the whole concept of a farm supply store to a new and riotously over-crowded level.

Toward the back they have a large selection of cultivator shovels with those really short golden-colored stove bolts that go with them. In the next isle there are nipple buckets to feed orphaned calves and the latest high tech bins to feed chickens and ducks. And of course there are more varieties of shovels and post hole diggers than I even knew existed.

They also have an extensive collection of clothing to outfit the farm family for everything from slopping hogs to going to church on Sunday morning after the cows are milked. For the missus there are canning jars, food processors, coffee pots, and even hand-crank meat grinders. (I looked for a hand-crank meat grinder for two years when we lived in Blue Rapids and never did find one. But here at Runnings they had three different varieties.) They even had a nice selection of buttons, patches, and sewing supplies.

Toward the front there was a large selection of toys for the kids (especially miniature tractors, miniature farm animals, and even miniature lions and zebras and bears). And near the check-out there were the absolute necessities that every farm truck has to have—beef jerky, Slim Jims™, peanuts, toothpicks, and horehounds. It was as if you were transported to a nineteenth century dry goods store, complete with impossibly narrow aisles and conversations about the rain (too much this year) and the price of corn and beans (too high to be sustainable). Yep, even that the-glass-is-half-empty philosophy that is the backbone of any farm community added to the ambience of Runnings Farm Equipment store.

I’d been into a couple of Runnings in my trucking days. And being the sort of traditional guy that knows how to treat my missus well, I introduced Brenda to the Runnings store in Redwood Falls and called it a date. After a half hour we ended up in the feed section, which looked like they could have supplied a county wide 4H orgy: rabbit feed, pig feed, chicken feed, duck feed, exotic bird feed, chinchilla feed ... well, you get the picture. Above the two dozen varieties of bird feed, there was a booklet published by DD Commodities Ltd , “manufacturer of quality products for caged birds, small animals and outdoor pets under various brands and trademarks.” It was entitled Wild Delights and in big bold letters at the top it said, “Free! Take One!

So Brenda did.

For the next ten minutes we moralized up and down the narrow aisles. Should we buy something else if we take the booklet? We considered horehounds (haven’t had one of those since mom was around). We pondered a box of 6oz pack-n-seal containers. We carefully examined a big bag of trail mix and/or Twizzlers for the car, turning them over seriously and thoughtfully in our hands. In the end we walked out of the store, free booklet under arm, without purchasing a thing. In the end it was the perfect date. It was free, fraught with guilt, but imbued with the satisfaction that we’d gotten an 80 page booklet that didn’t cost a thing.

Of course we were now obligated to feed the birds when we got home.

Alas, DD Commodities Ltd , “manufacturer of quality products for caged birds, small animals and outdoor pets under various brands and trademarks,” didn’t sell their various brands and trademarks as far south as Nebraska and Iowa, so we had to purchase supplies from other companies.

We began with a feed sack full of niger seed. A few days later Brenda bought song bird mix and a vertical feeder. Within a few days we added a bird bath. We even bring home extra holy bread from church (when there’s a lot left over) and spread the crumbs on the back patio. Our back yard is now full of birds and we turned into a couple of regular St. Francises.

To tell the truth, this wasn’t our first attempt. Several weeks earlier we had purchased an oriel feeder and bottle of orange nectar. Even though we have at least two nesting pairs of oriels in the neighborhood, our orange nectar was of no interest to them. Not once did they even come over to investigate.

But the bird seed has been a big hit in the neighborhood. We almost always have three or four purple finches hanging from the feeder. The occasional gold finch stops by to eat. We also have some pine siskins and chickadees. On the ground underneath the feeder cardinals, mourning doves and thrashers gather. Even the rabbits stop by and nibble at the left overs. Surprisingly, after stealing seed a handful of times, the squirrels seem to have grown bored with it and have returned to the front yard.

The tiny birds have been fun, but with finch feeding firmly in hand, I’m ready to move on to bigger game. Every day the local turkey vultures fly over, and maybe that should be our next project. Anyone out there have any experience feeding buzzards?