I kinda get the need to have these things designed this way (since they're not really meant to cut large yards), but you would think having at least one wheel to hold up the front would be a big improvement. I'd be tempted to rig something up at one point as an assist to hold that front end up. Even if it does not involve wheels, maybe a bar across the top with the ends bent down and curled under so you got two outriggers (like small sled runners) to glide on and lend some stability and support. They would not need to stick out far...just give you a tripod with the two runners and the ball. So how satisfying was that? Really good job on getting that running, Nancy.
He's gettin' there. That will work for the open field, but you loose depth for when you reach under bushes & stuff to actually "trim." A couple of skids out to the side and close to the deck--and maybe slightly behind the ball--won't impede functionality and will give support. Regarding the audio quality: I've watched a bunch of tractor attachment vids, and on one of them someone commented on the lack of brevity (he was right.) The OP replied: "When you upload a better video, let me know." LOL. Daggone cat fight on YouTube.
Back to the birds... It's only been a week since that little bluebird left the 2nd nest. Seems like a month. I was so sure they didn't all make it out because of the heat. Both adults have been peeking in that birdhouse at least a couple of times a day since. Why? What are they looking at? So yesterday I opened it up. Had a plan for every possibility, including finding new eggs. There was just a perfectly formed little nest with one old unhatched egg in it. No dead birds, no new eggs!!! Yay! Surely they won't try again, will they? I cleaned and disinfected the house, added a couple more ventilation holes near the bottom, and a small sun shield on the front, just in case. Today it was cooler and they have been carrying pine needles in there all evening, building a new nest. {sigh} Maybe they were waiting to see if I was ever going to mow the lawn again. Surely we won't have another heat spell like this. But the best part of the day was not the string trimmer, although that was good... A juvenile bluebird finally showed up this evening. Mama and Papa are teaching/feeding at least one bird in the trees and building a new nest at the same time. Next year I want a camera out there. Not inside the box, but outside facing the opening with a zoom and recorder. I want to know how many leave. And I'm moving the box to the only place there is shade all day. That means setting a new square 4x4 pole. Did you know it's illegal to destroy a viable bluebird egg! I wonder where the bird egg police stay. And for the record, the 4th egg from the first nest looked like it was incubated only about 4-5 days.
That's interesting. How can you tell that? That's a good point about the eggs being protected. I gotta think that any native species is equally protected (basically everything but Feral pigeons, European starlings and House sparrows.) It just occurred to me that I took a purple martin class from a guy who happens to be a lawyer and he told us to addle any eggs from invasive (parasitic) cowbirds that are found in the PM nests, and to then return them. Well, I just read that messing with their eggs is illegal, and "someone I know" may have been repeating that bad advice. I guess it's not something that one should chat about on the internet.
Compared it to pictures on the internet at various stages of development. The yolk was bean-shaped. Yes, I think any native species is "protected." That's what the egg I found yesterday looked like, addled. Yolk and white all mixed up together. Probably from the recent heat.
A woman on the BC forum posted this pic; she said her husband feeds the bluebirds mealworms. This is the female feeding the little one while the male stands guard.
These bluebirds seem to have an instinct not to eat too much of the same thing over and over again. You don't have to worry about feeding them too much of anything. At least that's been my experience. Wish I had that instinct. For example, mealworms lack calcium. Not good for very young fast growing baby birds. OK for older ones. Here they are feeding live mealworms to those that have fledged, but not to those in the nest. And not all day long.
That's good to know. I had read that they would get insistent if the mealworm tray were empty. Just amazing the intelligence and knowledge they are born with.
Maybe "instinct" is not the best word. Sounds too mysterious and unknowable. Maybe evolution, and survival of the fittest, as I think @Joe Riley was implying, is better. The babies of those birds that fed their offspring, or themselves, unwisely, tended not to survive as often, and didn't pass their habits or genes on. It's an interesting subject.
I read an interesting article about how a bird learns its song by perfecting it, using a 'template" of sorts. The link below explains it better than I could. https://scienceline.org/2019/02/how-do-birds-learn-their-songs/ Next time you gush over the beauty of a bird’s song, consider that its rough translation is something like this: “Hello, beautiful bird. Look how complex my song is! This is because I am a genetically superior male. Let’s start a family!” "I’m taking some liberties here, but experts say male birds really do use songs to communicate romantic interest in females and aggression towards males (which also relates to wooing females). But before a singing bird can compete for attention, it must learn and rehearse its melody. So how do birds learn their songs?" "But it is not enough for a young finch to merely listen to a song; he needs to practice it, too. In zebra finches, the rehearsal period begins 30 days after birth, earlier than in many other bird species. At first, the emerging song from a young male is quiet, unstable and does not resemble the tutor’s song. But the tutoring has not gone to waste: The tutor’s song is a template, and the young bird continuously listens to his own song and adjusts it to match this memorized template." Read More
I like the last sentence in that article: "In the game of love, it seems, female birds are willing to bet their happiness on a good song. But really, can you blame them?" .Sometimes I like to think of how the behavior I see in these birds would translate to human behavior. It's good for at least a smile. It might explain the Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald clip... Ah Sweet Mystery of Life.
Reminds me of the lady who bought a canary at the pet store, only to discover, after arriving home, that it had a broken leg. When she went back to return it, the owner asked "What did you want, a singer or a dancer?"