BLUE BIRDS: We have seen exactly one bluebird in our entire life
and so could only express extreme envy when Susan Taylor of Port
Allegany called us last week to report she has 23 – “at least 23” –
bluebirds in her yard!

At her previous home, Susan said, she tried in vain to attract
bluebirds to her yard. They moved into a new home in October and
she has seen them every day since. The property already had had six
bluebird houses, and the birds were going in and out of them in the
late fall – in fact, until the snow fell last week.

Susan consulted Birds and Blooms to learn that more and more
bluebirds are spending their winter in this region. They eat
berries still remaining on tree, and milkweed seed in the brush.
She was on her way downtown to buy mealworms for her blue
visitors.

LOOK UP: Speaking of birds, Frank Mack of Custer City phoned
about a week ago to tell us he had seen flocks of geese in the
classic V shape twice in one day – one group southbound and one
northbound! He wasn’t sure if it was the same flock or not – but
let’s hope not!

DEER PHOTO: We continue to get comments about that photo we ran
on the opening day of deer season – too many to include in Round
the Square, particularly as it’s shortened to make room for
Snoopy’s “days before Christmas.”

We will continue to print a few that remain, the shorter ones,
but will be diverting a couple to our editorial page starting
today.

Here’s one from Cheryl Thomas of Duke Center, “Hurray! There are
a few normal people that don’t mind seeing harvested deer in the
paper. I can’t add anything more to those that wrote in favor of
the pics, just support. It’s nice to see hunting stories, actually
the paper ought to have more hunting articles since it is so much a
part of our local background. To those that are offended, oh well.
I’m sure there are many more offensive things than a dead deer; two
that come to mind are ill-behaved kids and irresponsible
adults.”