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stotvulesuntributiem thursday august 9 2007 5 songbirds wont sing my tunes where have all my birds gone despite the fact i have two feeders one for small vari eties and another for large despite the fact i keep said feeders filled morning noon and night despite the fact i fill these feeders with only the best of seed feathered friends of which i once had hundreds have mysteriously disappeared im frustrated your cardinals and blue jays will be happy sue gow of stoufrvilles pet valu tells me every time i load up her counter with bags of tasty bird bits i wish is my reply know ing full well 90 per cent of what i buy will be gobbled up by squirrels not that i dislike these bushytailed rodents with them im equally generous mainly because theyre all i have left save for countless grackles starlings and spar rows no shortage of them but thats not my purpose its the coloured songsters to whom i wave the welcome mat im discouraged to the point of discontinuing sum mer feedings many folks do satisfied mother nature makes a mul titude of food sources avail able without breaking the bank still there must be rea sons things im not doing right ive been checking bird books hoping at least one veteran naturalist can come up with some answers so far no success there either birds blooms a maga zine to which i subscribe is my birder bible i trust it sin cerely continually testing its suggestions again no luck this periodical filled with amazing photos displays birds of every description vying for prioritypositions on backyard feeders but not on mine however when it comes to being upstaged references arent required from a publi cation out of greendale wise i need look no further than a neighbour two doors up the street at any given time morn ing noon or night her silo- shaped receptacle is inun dated by black and yellow plummage goldfinch cling to every perch with more waiting in line at mine the same feeder style and the same feeder seed nothing or almost nothing im about to give up me being the familiar type of sanctimonius male tends to blame someone or some thing other than myself and this i do or did i continually pointed accusing fingers or a poorly aimed shoe at any number of roving cats tres passing on our property roaming around with jim thomas one of these a tiger- striped feline with eyes mat glow in the dark continually lies in wait often for hours hoping a mourning dove or some such plump specimen will land close by but birds at least my birds are far too smart they give miss puss a wide berth so therein perhaps lies the problem birds are too afraid to come hence noth ing comes yes we too have a cat however 13yearold indy wouldnt move in a menacing manner if a house finch sat on its nose as improbable as this may be theres also a possibil ity my feeding schedule isnt in keeping with most birds feeding habits in an effort to attract blue jays and cardinals i place peanuts dressed and undressed in the largest tray every morning and evening i feel my feathered friends will be hungriest following a good nights sleep and again before going to bed the rest of the time for economic reasons i provide mostly sunflower seed they can eat it or bury it i dont care the choice is theirs but they wont bite my generosity goes unappreci ated such wasnt always the case on our arrival here 48 years ago birds of every breed inundated the block i purchased seed not by small bags but by big bushels in an effort to attract a fair share and i did for seemingly hours id stand binoculars in hand watching the comings and goings of back yard guests it was amazing a sight i now miss my wife says bird fancier numbers have increased dra matically since we first set foot in stouffville and shes right while delivering the suntri bune over an eightmile area i spot feeders everywhere and not only during winter but yearround the practice it seems has become so popular supply exceeds the demand the bird should feel fortunate i dont jim thomas is a stoufmlle resi dent who has written for area newspa pers for more than 50 years bcafc ob red or green rapes these are from california and pretty much at their peak of the season in eating quality we try to pick the larger size fruit and as freshly picked as possible you can tell this by the amount of green in the stem if its a withered and dry stem we leave it for those guys looking for deals at the produce market from california ehla 1sr weve got some nice size 7 kent mangoes for this week size 7 is big but youll have to be patient as these ripen from mexico vkcvl hawaiian well be making lots and lots of these sausages this week they are not for the faint of heart but for those who want adventure in their bun they will spark up just about any bun or dish that you care to use them in reg 399 lb off this week whats for fillets- this fish is actually called lehi snapper its more of a depthdweller inhabiting rocky outcrops at a depth of 300 400 fathoms 2000 feet because thats where their food of smaller shrimp and fish dwell these are beautifully coloured fish producing a delicate moist fillet that melts in your mouth the fillets range in colour from white to pink jub tuts hbk whats 00kin at the dem the first item well be making is cathys summer salad we have this salad at home often but to my mind not often enough she boils cobs of our corn and then cuts the kernels off in swaths deseeds and then dices local tomatoes and sweet onions and then seasons it with some light oil and rice vinegar add some chopped fresh basil and oregano and voila its great either at room temperature or chilled very light and refreshing well also be making some deboned cornish hens which have been stuffed with an apricot sage and carmelizedonion preparation and then slowroasted they will be available warm in the midafternoon up til dinner time in the bbq chicken warmer and well be making a crab chowder with fresh poached mussles salmon shrimp and halibut all finishedup with a hint of brandy and cream this will be at the deli selfserve cabinet our frozen entree feature this week will be our hawaiian j chicken its made with cubes of poached breast meat pineapple sweet peppers all in a sweet and sour type sauce it comes to you fully cooked all you wsuli ffl need to do is warm it ii pj reg 1495 jjjs- raos toesssssss 3p week whats aiong i 15 s ea sugar o whats mppenin f utside well be receiving a shipment of purple fountain grass both big and small and some of the midsummer square planters to fill in those spots which havent flourished it will still be a week or two before fall mums start with us in earnest well have some harry potter and some bart simpson sugar cookies this week for all you kids big and small these are all hand done smoked fvturkey drumsticks im sure youve all read up on my story about us selling lots of turkeys throughout the year in fact even more than all the holiday times put together the result is large amounts of these beauties which we cure and then slowsmoke the ultimate result is a big handful of neanderthal proportions a dinner or lunch that you wont forget weve got iffl ifll d week jf each this week our flavour in the bakery this week is blueberry what well be baking is jbluebebsfkaspbekey fibs these are the traditional 9 size not the mega pies that we make we use wild blues and fresh raspberries to make two sizes 4t 10 bluebebbxtdsnovers made with our puff pastry reg blueberbt shortcakes these are the cousin of our strawberry shortcakes except that we use wild blues instead the smaller version is large enough to serve 6 and the large will serve 12 c i reg bldeberrtdate muffins these are made with flaxseed as well reg and lastly we will be making some of my fave doubiieiced lemon loaves when i take these home i need more than one unless i know for certain that my kids are at camp its best served at room temp when the icing is the perfect texture oo reg all these items will be on sale at 95 tj 59 ea ea p whats happened in roduce f weve got some local strawberries this week the corn is amazing melons are real good peaches and nectarines are in midseason form beans are good squash is beginning potatoes are coming along nicely local tomatoes are progressing as well and lettuce is all good wild blues are very expensive still and fresh blackberries are sweet is village grocer quality foods specials in effect until closing sunday august 12 hours mon 1100700 tuesthurs 900700 fri 900800 independent sat 900600 sun 1000500 grocer 548 carlton road unionville m 9401770 wwwthevulagegr6cercom