Last week, in a fit of spring fever, I decided to plant primroses and spring bulbs in my balcony garden. On pulling out the roots of last summer’s herbs I found a number of peanuts buried in my pots and window-boxes, and I left them there so they could be found again.

There is an old lady on the first floor of our building who leaves peanuts in their shells for the birds throughout the winter, and the jays and crows fight to snatch them. The jays then come up to our place and bury them, making a big mess while they’re at it. When we first moved here, I couldn’t figure out what sly monster was coming at dawn to throw dirt all over my nice, clean balcony.  When I first saw a jay land in my flowers, I was happy to see that this monster was a large, colorful and exotic-looking bird, and not really the slightest bit sly.

Today, while working at the computer, I saw this jay come to retrieve one of his peanuts. He was about to dig around for some more when he spotted Hamlet, our cat, who was eying him eagerly from the other side of the window. So he flew off in a frightened hurry, but with his peanut firmly wedged in his beak. Luckily I had the camera at my desk and managed to catch these photos before he left.