October 5, 2007 - What a great fall day today!  Our temperatures have been much higher than normal and the fall color is in full bloom.  We are not yet at our peak for color, but things are changing rapidly.  The wildlife around here seems to be more active than ever and we are seeing creatures everywhere we look.  I just added 100 pounds of feed (sunflower and shell corn) to the big feeder and the birds are flocking in to it like crazy.  There must be a blue jay factory around here, as they are turning out in droves!  There are a lot of different species coming in and a big brown thrush just landed as I was typing this entry.  Yesterday there were a pair of cardinals and a tufted titmouse.  The jays are so numerous, they run everything else out.  The squirrels seem to hold their own and they in turn run off the jays.  There is always a pecking order to the feeder!

October 17, 2007 - The big feeder ran out of food yesterday.  Every last bit of seed was gone in less than two weeks!  I am really surprised, but there has been a lot of activity during this time.  Our weather went from the record setting 90 to a drop of 40 degrees.  Today I filled the feeder back up and put 50 lbs. of sunflower seeds in each side, 10 lbs. of mixed seed in the middle and then added 50 lbs. of shell corn on top of the mixed seed in the center section.  That means there is 160 pounds of seed in it and that does make it the "Big Feeder."  I don't expect any bears at this time of the year, but with all that weight on top, it would be much easier for one to push the feeder over.  Last night a wild cat was lurking around the feeder.  I know they are very effective hunters and I haven't seen the flying squirrels in a week or so.  Makes me wonder if the cat got them.