I am truly a doofus, as my wife constantly reminds me. But she’s right. Sometimes I think my brain is in the charging mode and not really plugged in.
For example. A thistle sock I used last summer to feed finches was completely worn out, so it was off to Lowe’s for a replacement. Instead of buying another sock filled with thistle or nyjer seed, I bought a bag of finch food and a new, plastic finch feeder. The feeder had two small holes in the bottom and came with a straw-like tube taped to the side. After filling my feeder, I glanced at the instructions, which read, “Stick the tube into the holes”. I thought it meant to poke out the holes so the seed would be accessible, so I did, then discarded the tube.
A day later, I saw some goldfinches trying desperately to find a place to perch so they could eat the seeds, but I had thrown it away, thinking of it as a “poker of holes” not as a “perch for finches.”
I rummaged through my tools and implements in the basement for a substitute and finally found a ten-penny nail that I forced through the holes where the perch tube belonged. But it worked, and now the finches can perch and peck, and they are eating me out of house and home.
They love the seed I bought, Nyger Plus from Garden Treasures. It is a combination of thistle and small sunflower chips. Lowe’s sells it for about $11 for a 5-pound bag. The blend is slightly cheaper than the “all thistle” seed and the finches love it.
We now have about a dozen goldfinches in our back yard waiting for their turns at the feeder. The males are just beginning to change colors from a dull greenish yellow into what will be a brilliant gold. The cost of an occasional bag of thistle and sunflower chips is a small price to pay for such backyard beauty.