Old Town Geese, Pigeons and Rice

We have a very old bag of rice that we don’t feel comfortable consuming. But rather than throw it out we decided to keep it and bring some of it along on our morning walks. It’s been quite successful with squirrels and sparrows on the national mall. They squirrels almost do tricks for you to get at it. The other day we took a ride to Old Town Alexandria. We tend to start the morning walk by the waterfront then come back down one of the old historic streets. There is one area by the tall ship where pigeons, geese, ducks, seagulls, and crows hang around. We skipped that area this time. Further down the way there’s a place where all the sightseeing and personal watercraft are moored. There was a pair of geese looking up at us. So we threw some rice their way and they weren’t very interested. But the pigeons definitely were and started to call in all their friends from everywhere in sight. It’s amazing that such a tiny morsel of rice will do the trick. But when it’s cold outside anything must look good. 

Critters, Birds and Rice

It’s cold outside. We used to feed the ducks in New England with stale bits of bread. When we moved to Florida we went to the bakery for stale bread for the same purpose. But it wasn’t cold! We have an old container of rice that we don’t plan to use. So we decided to put it in little baggies and bring it with us on our morning walks. We went to Old Town Alexandria last week and walked along the waterfront. There they were - ducks, pigeons, crows, seagulls. All of them were waiting for a hand out. So we started throwing out morsels of rice and the the show began. The best part was watching the ducks make the sliding landing on the ice. All of the birds were hustling! I never knew ducks would go for these tiny grains of rice. When we were walking on the national mall we took another bag of rice and sprinkled the contents on the sidewalk by the American history museum. The birds went crazy. They didn’t want to take it out of my husband’s gloved hand though. The albino squirrel and the rest of them seemed interested, but not for long.  And in the neighborhood park we sprinkled more rice along the trail and on top of tree stumps. It didn’t seem like any one was interested - but perhaps whatever was would gulp it down on the stealth after we left. We still have a bit of rice to use up yet. It’s fun to watch the birds and critters - of any shape or form.