Oy Vey
After 22,279 planetary rotations I'm fairly beat up and worn down, emotionally more than physically, but I suppose that's to be expected considering the lousy human coinhabitants that I share this rock with. I'm still duty bound to do my best to keep the few that I love warm, dry, fed with a few small amusements. I've hunkered down to get the job done often using every bit of rationed energy that I have left. I will endeavor to persevere until the end.
One of the few I still love is birds. I've dutifully fed my backyard friends for decades all winter long. One feeder with fancy mix for sparrows and assorted and another with sunflower seeds for cardinals and chickadees. The cardinals and chickadees need the high energy black oil sunflower seeds to survive, especially in cold weather. But feeding the birds has gotten much more expensive this year as the cost of sunflower seeds has doubled due to the global food crisis and wet spring conditions.
The wholesale cost of sunflower seeds has increased from $15 per 100lb to $29 per 100lb with retail prices shooting to $39 per 50lbs! Farmers grew more corn, soybeans and wheat this year due to higher grain prices so less sunflowers were grown. And the wet spring denied sunflowers the long growing season that they need, reducing yield significantly. So I spent 50 cents a day to feed instead of a quarter a day feeding sunflower seed. Since the fancy seed mix has some sunflowers mixed in, this cost has increased as well. So overall, I spend about $1.10 per day feeding birds compared to 55 cents per day last year. It adds up!
God is helping me and the birds by providing a relatively mild winter so far. Birds eat less and my seasonal cost should come in at about $200 this year. Hopefully farmers will have better growing conditions next year and prices will come down. But then again, human greed might make sunflowers permanently more expensive, especially in a world of 7 billion human mouths to feed. Oy vey!
One of the few I still love is birds. I've dutifully fed my backyard friends for decades all winter long. One feeder with fancy mix for sparrows and assorted and another with sunflower seeds for cardinals and chickadees. The cardinals and chickadees need the high energy black oil sunflower seeds to survive, especially in cold weather. But feeding the birds has gotten much more expensive this year as the cost of sunflower seeds has doubled due to the global food crisis and wet spring conditions.
The wholesale cost of sunflower seeds has increased from $15 per 100lb to $29 per 100lb with retail prices shooting to $39 per 50lbs! Farmers grew more corn, soybeans and wheat this year due to higher grain prices so less sunflowers were grown. And the wet spring denied sunflowers the long growing season that they need, reducing yield significantly. So I spent 50 cents a day to feed instead of a quarter a day feeding sunflower seed. Since the fancy seed mix has some sunflowers mixed in, this cost has increased as well. So overall, I spend about $1.10 per day feeding birds compared to 55 cents per day last year. It adds up!
God is helping me and the birds by providing a relatively mild winter so far. Birds eat less and my seasonal cost should come in at about $200 this year. Hopefully farmers will have better growing conditions next year and prices will come down. But then again, human greed might make sunflowers permanently more expensive, especially in a world of 7 billion human mouths to feed. Oy vey!
posted by lugh lampfhota at 10:32 AM
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