Time
Taking a slightly different tack... That of the long-term role we play as handy-folks and backyard birders... Consider the shot below...
Just a couple of feeders, right? Well, yes and no. While they are just bird feeders, they also are pressure treated posts, carefully placed, leveled, and plumbed. And, as such, they may well outlast me. Let me explain... When I was 25, I built things to last, but I knew that I'd outlast them. No more. Take a look at the kayak the wife and I built , the trellis, and the hutch... Though I'm not "AARP age" yet, it's clear that with just a little bit of care, this stuff will be around when I'm ash. So what will the strangers (perhaps even unborn right now) think of the feeder posts and all the other stuff we've done with the yard and the house? Who knows...
Twenty five years ago I developed a sizable lump in my armpit and went to the doctor post haste. Obviously, he did the usual medical mumbo jumbo. In the week I spent waiting for the test results, I did a ton of soul searching, and one of the worst moments (setting aside family issues) was standing in my cramped shop realizing that strangers were going to scavenge my most treasured possessions - my tools... And they wouldn't even appreciate the history. Long story made short, the tests came back negative. But the lesson learned haunts me to this day - when we build things (be it shops or feeder posts), we never know who will inherit our handiwork. Consider the plane below...
That's a 19th-century Thos. Appleton coffin-sided smoothing plane with a Moulson Brothers blade. The steel is of such quality that I've only had to sharpen it once in the last decade. Though worth only $75, it is one of my most cherished belongings. What's it's history? How many before me have held that tool with great reverence? Gone. All gone.
I know this sounds a bit macabre, but as you make adjustments to your yard (including the feeders), consider those who will follow... It's just a matter of time...
See you by the feeders,
CapeCodAlan
Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding
Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding
