Orioles?

Tom was putting out rocks along the driveway this morning when Rich came over to see what he was up to. While they were chatting, Rich mentioned that they had seen an oriole. We were just talking about them yesterday.

I always enjoy it when the orioles arrive. Their orange plumage adds an interesting note to the back yard.

You can get fancy oriole feeders, but Tom and I have a simpler approach. Here is the high-tech version that has served us well in the past:

Yes, that is just half an orange stuck on a screw on the deck railing. (Those are sand cherry blossoms out of focus in the background.) Tom put in two screws, I cut an orange in half and -- voilà -- a two-station feeding platform. Here is a close-up of the other half to give you an idea of just how high-tech this operation is.

Orioles love oranges and grape jelly. When the have scooped out some of the orange pulp, I will put jelly in there. Although conventional wisdom says grape jelly and only grape jelly, last year I discovered that they also will eat blackberry jam. Since that is what we have in the fridge, that is what they will get.