Pet Peeves: Aka Things That Make You Go "Gah!"

[annzeepark914]

Last spring I hung a pretty, flowery wreath on the front door. One day I stepped out on the front stoop & there was a tiny nest on the stoop. My husband put it on a shrub but I said no bird would want to be that exposed. The bird never used it again.

So...last week I hung a new spring wreath (the previous wreath is a bit mangled from the nest builder). Today I heard loud tweets near the front door. I opened it slowly & two tiny birds flew away, I thought, from the front stoop's ceiling area. I came back and got some cat fur (from a thing that you run over furniture) & placed the fur in two areas of the wreath. I may hunt for some more shedded fur & place it on the wreath. Is this a good idea? Anything else I should do? So much hard work for birds building these nests. I feel bad for them.

 

[Browncoat]

1 hour ago, annzeepark914 said:

Is this a good idea? Anything else I should do? So much hard work for birds building these nests. I feel bad for them.

When I had dogs, the birds used the shed fur for their nests -- they'd flock to the yard on shedding day.  They'll probably like cat fur, too.  But the birds aren't likely to stick around if they're disturbed a lot, so if you want them to stay, you should probably use a different door until their babies have fledged.  The birds are probably wrens.  One of my friends hung up a shirt to dry outside by buttoning the shirt over the clothesline.  When he came back a few hours later, a wren had started building a nest inside the shirt!

[annzeepark914]

Poor birds. But I can't have a nest on the front door. Hmmm...I thought the cat fur would scare them away (not use it for building materials!) I might take down the wreath for a month or so.

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Hmmm...I thought the cat fur would scare them away (not use it for building materials!)

Oh, I thought you were putting out stuff for them to use. 

And, yes, they'll use cat fur, not get scared away (most birds don't have a keen sense of smell).  I think if you don't want them to build a nest on the door wreath, you'll need to either put the wreath somewhere else and accept you're going to share it with them or just not have it out during nesting season.

Edited April 4 by Bastet

[StatisticalOutlier]

23 hours ago, TattleTeeny said:

Haha, tell this to the people on Amazon who answer product questions with, “I don’t know; I returned it” or “I don’t know about the size large; I am a small.”

This used to bug the shit out of me.  Or, actually, it still bugs the shit out of me but I understand it.  Apparently when someone asks a question about a product, Amazon will send that question directly to certain people, and they (incorrectly) think the person is asking THEM, and probably are just being polite by answering.

As with almost everything on the internet, and with technology in general, nobody understands how it works, so they do stupid shit like that.

[annzeepark914]

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

Oh, I thought you were putting out stuff for them to use. 

And, yes, they'll use cat fur, not get scared away (most birds don't have a keen sense of smell).  I think if you don't want them to build a nest on the door wreath, you either need to put the wreath somewhere else and accept you're going to share it with them or just not have it out during nesting season.

I just switched back to the Valentine wreath (it's not a welcoming material for nestbuilders).  Now I'm wondering just when is nestbuilding time over???

[TattleTeeny]

1 hour ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

This used to bug the shit out of me.  Or, actually, it still bugs the shit out of me but I understand it.  Apparently when someone asks a question about a product, Amazon will send that question directly to certain people, and they (incorrectly) think the person is asking THEM, and probably are just being polite by answering.

As with almost everything on the internet, and with technology in general, nobody understands how it works, so they do stupid shit like that.

Oh, I know. But it makes me laugh more than it bugs me. I feel lucky when I find an especially egregious one!

3 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Poor birds. But I can't have a nest on the front door. Hmmm...I thought the cat fur would scare them away (not use it for building materials!) I might take down the wreath for a month or so.

Oh my goodness, I totally misunderstood your other post and thought that you’d deliberately given the fur to the birds for their nest!

I have plenty of excess cat hair — how can I donate it to birds?!

Edited April 4 by TattleTeeny

[annzeepark914]

32 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

Oh, I know. But it makes me laugh more than it bugs me. I feel lucky when I find an especially egregious one!

Oh my goodness, I totally misunderstood your other post and thought that you’d deliberately given the fur to the birds for their nest!

I have plenty of excess cat hair — how can I donate it to birds?!

Just collect it and put it outside on a shrub or on the grass...or on your deck.

[Browncoat]

56 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

I have plenty of excess cat hair — how can I donate it to birds?!

Put it outside -- the birds will find it!  I'd brush my dogs outside and just leave the fur in the yard.  Maybe separate the clumps a little to make it easier to pick up, but the birds will love it.

1 hour ago, annzeepark914 said:

Now I'm wondering just when is nestbuilding time over???

Nestbuilding is just getting started.  Some birds have more than one batch of babies during breeding season, so they nest multiple times.  And goldfinches tend to nest later in the summer.  So, depending on the birds you have, nest building might not end until fall migration starts.

[annzeepark914]

24 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

Put it outside -- the birds will find it!  I'd brush my dogs outside and just leave the fur in the yard.  Maybe separate the clumps a little to make it easier to pick up, but the birds will love it.

Nestbuilding is just getting started.  Some birds have more than one batch of babies during breeding season, so they nest multiple times.  And goldfinches tend to nest later in the summer.  So, depending on the birds you have, nest building might not end until fall migration starts.

I need to look them up in a bird book. They're tiny birds, dark gray. Oh well, the new wreath looked fabulous for the Easter holiday weekend.

[Browncoat]

4 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

I need to look them up in a bird book. They're tiny birds, dark gray. Oh well, the new wreath looked fabulous for the Easter holiday weekend.

Is there any white on them?  I've forgotten where you are -- I might be able to help ID them.

[annzeepark914]

8 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

Is there any white on them?  I've forgotten where you are -- I might be able to help ID them.

Just outside DC in VA. No white markings that I could see. And I just see them in the front of the house where there's a good size maple tree (never on the deck in back where we have a bird feeder). They remind me of Juncos but they're tinier and more slender.

[Browncoat]

Hm.  I was going to suggest chickadees, but if there isn't any white, that kind of rules them out.  Everything I can think of has some white.

[Mondrianyone]

Can you hang the wreath on a wall beside the door, where it won't be getting moved?

Also, another thing birds love for building nests is dryer lint. We collect that and set it out for them. If you have a net produce bag, like the kind onions come in, say, you can stuff it in that and they'll pull it out.

[Yeah No]

7 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Poor birds. But I can't have a nest on the front door. Hmmm...I thought the cat fur would scare them away (not use it for building materials!) I might take down the wreath for a month or so.

Interestingly there's a lot of advice online on how to prevent birds from building nests on your porch, etc. and lots of products dedicated to that purpose too!

Click Here for Google Search Link

[annzeepark914]

6 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

Can you hang the wreath on a wall beside the door, where it won't be getting moved?

No...it's a brick wall. I took it down and hung the Valentine wreath (it's smaller & the material is not inviting to nest builders).

[Browncoat]

5 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

No...it's a brick wall. I took it down and hung the Valentine wreath (it's smaller & the material is not inviting to nest builders).

Give it a week or two and try the other wreath again.  If the birds are discouraged enough, they'll move on.  I had a pair of Northern Cardinals start a nest in a tree just outside my bedroom window, but they gave up within a few days because I always look out that window first thing in the morning to see what the weather's doing. 

[TattleTeeny]

Chickadees are so, so, SOOOOOOOO cute!

[graybrown bird]

Kind of butting in to this conversation (sorry) but want to mention something about bird nest-building materials I just read this morning -- can't remember where.  It cautioned against putting out cat or dog hair for the birds if the pet is treated with anti-parasite chemicals.  It also said dryer lint is NOT good either -- It retains wetness, and the laundry detergents/softeners are also harmful to birds.  String, yarn, etc. can wrap around bird legs and trap them or cause circulation issues or even amputation.  This source concluded by saying birds don't need our help finding nesting materials -- the natural world of leaves, weeds, grasses, etc. provides plenty!

[TattleTeeny]

I saw that too! I guess my excess cat fur can just keep doing what it's doing...

[peacheslatour]

17 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

I saw that too! I guess my excess cat fur can just keep doing what it's doing...

Sticking to your clothes and furniture?

[Cementhead]

[TattleTeeny]

OH MY GOD, my stepfather is driving me CRAZY! I texted him to ask what I thought was a simple tax-related question (I thought...) and he is clearly not reading what I am saying before he replies and, as a result, is asking me questions that are either redundant or completely irrelevant. I better never go on The Amazing Race with him -- I know he won't read the clue!

UPDATE: He called and said he was confused and that he was trying to do more than one thing at once. I told him that it’s totally fine if he replies when it’s easier — no one was dying over here, haha!

Edited April 4 by TattleTeeny

[Gramto6]

nvr mind

Edited April 4 by Gramto6

[meep.meep]

9 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Give it a week or two and try the other wreath again.  If the birds are discouraged enough, they'll move on.  I had a pair of Northern Cardinals start a nest in a tree just outside my bedroom window, but they gave up within a few days because I always look out that window first thing in the morning to see what the weather's doing. 

You hope they will move on.  I had a pair of mourning doves try to build a nest on top of my porch light four years in a row.  There's plenty of trees to build nests in.  They kept coming back year after year.  It was almost a peeve!

Last year a humming bird nested on a low branch in my lemon tree.  I kept checking it out and I think scared her off.  The nest was tiny and almost furry.

[annzeepark914]

15 hours ago, meep.meep said:

You hope they will move on.  I had a pair of mourning doves try to build a nest on top of my porch light four years in a row.  There's plenty of trees to build nests in.  They kept coming back year after year.  It was almost a peeve!

Last year a humming bird nested on a low branch in my lemon tree.  I kept checking it out and I think scared her off.  The nest was tiny and almost furry.

Oh dear! I think I saw those same two tiny birds today, up on the same Maple tree branch, *loudly* chirping away again. And I think I saw white markings on them that I didn't see previously. So, they're around, probably still looking for a place to build.

 

Edited April 5 by annzeepark914

[TattleTeeny]

Maybe you need to buy (or make) them a birdhouse!

 

[peacheslatour]

13 hours ago, TattleTeeny said:

Maybe you need to buy (or make) them a birdhouse!

 

I have a magnolia tree and after it blooms it has these little brown cup shaped end bits left. The hummingbirds like to nest in these tiny cups and they use moss and spider webs to plush it up. I love the idea of using delicate spider webs as construction material. It makes the tiny things seem like fairies.

[RealHousewife]

Saying "I want to be a wife" instead of "I want to be married." I don't mind saying you want to be a wife now and then, but when it's always said rather than wanting to be married, it sounds like you're more interested in a title than the actual marriage to me.

 

[peacheslatour]

4 minutes ago, RealHousewife said:

Saying "I want to be a wife" instead of "I want to be married." I don't mind saying you want to be a wife now and then, but when it's always said rather than wanting to be married, it sounds like you're more interested in a title than the actual marriage to me.

 

I never could get the whole "My wedding is the pinnacle of my life and has to be perfect in every tiny detail" deal. Shit, it's ONE day out of the thousands of days you will live. When we got married, I was much more interested in the marriage rather than the wedding. 

[KittyMom4]

16 hours ago, meep.meep said:

You hope they will move on.  I had a pair of mourning doves try to build a nest on top of my porch light four years in a row.  There's plenty of trees to build nests in.  They kept coming back year after year.  It was almost a peeve!

I used to leave my garage door (the one the car goes in and out of) open pretty much all day on the weekends when I was working in the yard. One year a pair of Robins made a nest on top of my garage door opener, I swear it was built over 2 days and had eggs in it shortly after. So I had to leave my garage door open about 4 inches while I was at work to make sure they could get in and out and my car parked outside. Once the babies were on their own and the nest was abandoned I took it down. The following year I noticed some twigs and leaves being left there again so I started keeping the door closed. It was nice the first year but I didn't want it to continue. 

Edited April 5 by KittyMom4

[KittyMom4]

7 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

I never could get the whole "My wedding is the pinnacle of my life and has to be perfect in every tiny detail" deal. Shit, it's ONE day out of the thousands of days you will live. When we got married, I was much more interested in the marriage rather than the wedding. 

The wedding industry absolutely enforces the idea that it has to be MAGICAL and SUPER SPECIAL, heck they are making a fortune off of these brides and grooms so why wouldn't they? I'm amazed at what these couples (and their parents) are willing to spend on 1 day.

Don't get me started on wedding registries full of expensive cutlery and high-end coffee makers either. 

I knew a couple many years ago that had a beautiful wedding, divorced 9 months later. Another couple married a two years ago, big beautiful wedding, are now in the process of divorcing. Hey, maybe don't put so much time and energy into looking at dresses and planning floral arrangements and instead spend some time really looking at your partner and make sure he/she is the one you want to commit to. 

 

[shang yiet]

One thing which I find slightly annoying is celebrities or certain royals hiding the faces of their little children on the pictures they post and choose to release to the public. I don't care about their children anyway but still, what am I supposed to look at, the back of the kid's head? No thanks.

Don't post any pics of your kids then, if you're so concerned about their privacy.

[Wiendish Fitch]

1 minute ago, shang yiet said:

One thing which I find slightly annoying is celebrities or certain royals hiding the faces of their little children on the pictures they post and choose to release to the public. I don't care about their children anyway but still, what am I supposed to look at, the back of the kid's head? No thanks.

Don't post any pics of your kids then, if you're so concerned about their privacy.

Exactly. I have no idea what the children of Jennifer Lawrence, Anne Hathaway, or Adele look like... and that's just fine and dandy with me. 

[blackwing]

30 minutes ago, shang yiet said:

One thing which I find slightly annoying is celebrities or certain royals hiding the faces of their little children on the pictures they post and choose to release to the public. I don't care about their children anyway but still, what am I supposed to look at, the back of the kid's head? No thanks.

Don't post any pics of your kids then, if you're so concerned about their privacy.

They post pictures because otherwise the public would always say "how come you never post any pictures of your kids" and accuse them of making up imaginary kids.

Jamie Dornan is one of those celebrities that only posts pictures of the back of his kids' heads.  He was on some talk show and the host put up a photo from either his or his wife's instagram.  Jamie joked that "that's all you ever see, they don't actually have faces".

In today's age, I think it's very understandable why some wealthy celebrities wouldn't want photos of their children made public.  Children of celebrities have been kidnapped for ransom in the past, and that was in the days before the internet.

[KittyMom4]

55 minutes ago, blackwing said:

In today's age, I think it's very understandable why some wealthy celebrities wouldn't want photos of their children made public.  Children of celebrities have been kidnapped for ransom in the past, and that was in the days before the internet.

Not to mention the horrible trolls who will make fun of the child's appearance especially as the child goes through those awkward teenage years. 

Honestly, I do not care one whit about what celebrity children look like, I really don't care at all about what celebrities do in their personal life. Acting is their job, I don't feel entitled to know anything about their families, homes, the car they drive or how they spend their time off. 

 

[bluegirl147]

People, celebrities and non celebrities, are entitled to post what they are comfortable with.  I have friends who never post any pics of their kids or grandkids online.  And I have other friends who post pics all day every day.  I feel like social media has allowed people to think they are entitled to know everything about everyone.  I have one social media account and post next to nothing.  And I prefer it that way.

[Spartan Girl]

If they want to make sure their faces aren’t displayed, it’s fine. It’s not like they’re making them wear Halloween masks and veils every time they’re out in public. 

[Ohiopirate02]

28 minutes ago, KittyMom4 said:

Not to mention the horrible trolls who will make fun of the child's appearance especially as the child goes through those awkward teenage years. 

Honestly, I do not care one whit about what celebrity children look like, I really don't care at all about what celebrities do in their personal life. Acting is their job, I don't feel entitled to know anything about their families, homes, the car they drive or how they spend their time off. 

 

There's also the trolls who start countdown clocks when they find the teenager in question hot.  Some days I think the internet was a mistake.

[peacheslatour]

5 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

If they want to make sure their faces aren’t displayed, it’s fine. It’s not like they’re making them wear Halloween masks and veils every time they’re out in public. 

They could always jam a pillow case down on their heads.

 

[bluegirl147]

5 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

There's also the trolls who start countdown clocks when they find the teenager in question hot.  Some days I think the internet was a mistake.

And this is why we can't have nice things.

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

Saying "I want to be a wife" instead of "I want to be married."

I've never heard that, thankfully, and it's backward from what many of the married women I know have talked about -- they wanted or were at least open to marrying their partners, but were quite wary of all the outdated yet persistent sexist expectations that came with being a wife.

2 hours ago, shang yiet said:

Don't post any pics of your kids then, if you're so concerned about their privacy.

It seems like a workable happy medium to me, pictures of the kids/that include the kids, but with their faces obscured, if they are open to sharing glimpses into their family lives with curious fans but don't want their kids being recognizable to the world.  Never posting any pictures of/with the kids is fine, too, of course; both seem equally valid choices to me on general principle, and especially with the internet being what it is today.

[bluegirl147]

3 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

Saying "I want to be a wife" instead of "I want to be married." I don't mind saying you want to be a wife now and then, but when it's always said rather than wanting to be married, it sounds like you're more interested in a title than the actual marriage to me.

 

Weren't there tee shirts at one time being sold that said "Wifey material"?

30 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I've never heard that, thankfully, and it's backward from what many of the married women I know have talked about -- they wanted or were at least open to marrying their partners, but were quite wary of all the outdated yet persistent sexist expectations that came with being a wife.

There are now influencers who promote being "trad wives" as in traditional wives.  My question is who's tradition?

[RealHousewife]

23 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

Weren't there tee shirts at one time being sold that said "Wifey material"?

There are now influencers who promote being "trad wives" as in traditional wives.  My question is who's tradition?

Yes! I've seen those women. Some of them act like they're persecuted because they're happy being stay-at-home moms and blame feminism. I know there are extremists in every movement and there are always jerks, but come on. I see nothing wrong with enjoying homemaking and wanting to stay home with your kids. But let's not romanticize all things traditional, pretend that lifestyle is practical for everyone in this economy, nor put down women who have careers they're passionate about or put down stay-at-home dads. 

There is this pretty girl on YouTube who literally admitted to sneaking in some of her dangerous views after giving a cookie recipe or whatever. I think these influencers can be very dangerous because they can initially come across as stuff parents would rather their kids watch over Kardashians and whatnot, but their looks can be deceiving. 

[Anela]

1 hour ago, bluegirl147 said:

Weren't there tee shirts at one time being sold that said "Wifey material"?

There are now influencers who promote being "trad wives" as in traditional wives.  My question is who's tradition?

As long as they’re making money through social media, I don’t think they’re living that traditional lifestyle. And I’m right there with you, with your question. 
 

My peeve: I’m trying to fix my sleep schedule, and it isn’t working.  I’ve barely slept, and I’m getting nothing done. 

Edited April 5 by Anela

[peacheslatour]

45 minutes ago, Anela said:

As long as they’re making money through social media, I don’t think they’re living that traditional lifestyle. And I’m right there with you, with your question. 
 

My peeve: I’m trying to fix my sleep schedule, and it isn’t working.  I’ve barely slept, and I’m getting nothing done. 

I hope they're making money of some kind because when hubby decides she's reached her expiration date, usually some time before hitting 30 and kicks her to the curb to marry someone younger and more subservient, she better have something to fall back on.

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, Anela said:

As long as they’re making money through social media, I don’t think they’re living that traditional lifestyle.

Yeah, that's right up there with Phyllis Schlafly calling herself a housewife.

[GHScorpiosRule]

If I never hear the word influencer ever again, it will be too soon.

[JustHereForFood]

On the topic of hypocritical influencers, my peeve is youtubers who go on and on about how capitalism is bad and the source of all that is wrong in western society, blah blah. Like, girl I know you probably mean it well and I like the rest of your content, but you are literally able to earn money making these videos thanks to capitalism. 

I am not saying that it doesn't have its problems and of course there have to be proper checks in place to protect the workers and the consumers from those who hold more power. But that works for any system. And claiming that it is responsible for sexism, racism or homophobia doesn't check, because those are present in non-capitalistic countries too (even more so sometimes, because at least democracy has some tools to fight them). Of course, this is personal for me, coming from a former socialist country where people literally risked their lives trying to escape to the other side of the Iron curtain. But that doesn't disprove my point, on the contrary it gives me perspective those people are lacking, not having experience with anything else. 

[BlueSkies]

I got a gift card from Dunkin' Donuts from someone for Christmas.  So every now and then I go to the Dunkin Donuts the next town over to use it for coffee.  

 

It never fails whenever I go there there is a group of the same older guys there always hanging out, crowding around, and talking loudly.  I mean there is inherently nothing wrong with that at all.  But I mean eavesdropping on their conversations the stuff they go on about is really more appropriate for a bar not the neighborhood Dunkin Donuts.  They go on and on about sports and the local scoop if you will.

 

They are off putting and annoying enough to me I think I will avoid that place for a while.