A place to discuss the weekly Wall Street Journal Crossword Puzzle Contest, starting every Thursday around 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. Please do not post any answers or hints before the contest deadline which is midnight Sunday Eastern time.
Bob cruise director wrote: ↑Sun Feb 14, 2021 12:10 pm
...if you missed it before, the WSJ will not be published tomorrow so the official results will not appear until Tuesday but I am sure there will be comments here.
Friday's WSJCC official solution should be posted on WSJ (& here) Monday, 4PM ET, on Tuesday's crossword PDF.
Unofficial answer & commentary will be posted tonight, after midnight, by muggles.
Ashore. I can see how the "aha!" moment could strike early, but (as typical for me) it didn't strike until I was done with the grid, and then some. And I got nothing for you about bird feeders.
Just submitted. Had the meta on Friday, but only just now saw the mechanism. Somehow I am resistant to submitting if I can't see the pathway. Not sure this week's path is "elegant"; maybe just straight-forward. Thinking back, I believe my favorite "elegant" mechanism was the theme of "AP Chemistry", and, if I recall, that was not an M or M construction.
Colin wrote: ↑Sun Feb 14, 2021 11:23 am
Re squirrel-related devices: the collective experience here must surely know that squirrels don’t like safflower seeds? I was plagued with squirrels and switched from sunflower to safflower ... haven’t seen a single squirrel since. All bird varieties still feeding including red-bellied woodies. Hairy and downy only occasionally now, but cardinals increased frequency. Safflower a bit more expensive but well worth it and probably cheaper in total. Squirrels destroyed the wicker on our patio chair in between feeds!
That's useful information! Our squirrels have been discouraged by a Squirrel-Buster feeder, a Wild Birds Unlimited baffle, and a slinky (each on a different feeder). Our birds drop so many seeds that the squirrels are content to eat underneath the feeders.
(edit) My husband tells me he mixes safflower seed in with all our mixtures, except the niger seed.
Last edited by CPJohnson on Sun Feb 14, 2021 6:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Had to kinda backsolve this one, but the aha moment was pleasant nonetheless. Simple, when executed properly and with enough attention to detail, can be much warmer than complicated.
ImOnToo wrote: ↑Sun Feb 14, 2021 7:53 pm
11 Degrees in the Fort Worth/Dallas area of Texas with 4"+ of snow so far! We don't DO this!
Single digits expected for tomorrow.
Could you folks up north please come get your lost weather?
Don't worry. You are sending it to us in the form of freezing rain Monday night and into Tuesday.
Make sure you are on the zoom call Tuesday night to get the appropriate response
Colin wrote: ↑Sun Feb 14, 2021 11:23 am
Re squirrel-related devices: the collective experience here must surely know that squirrels don’t like safflower seeds? I was plagued with squirrels and switched from sunflower to safflower ... haven’t seen a single squirrel since. All bird varieties still feeding including red-bellied woodies. Hairy and downy only occasionally now, but cardinals increased frequency. Safflower a bit more expensive but well worth it and probably cheaper in total. Squirrels destroyed the wicker on our patio chair in between feeds!
That's useful information! Our squirrels have been discouraged by a Squirrel-Buster feeder, a Wild Birds Unlimited baffle, and a slinky (each on a different feeder). Our birds drop so many seeds that the squirrels are content to eat underneath the feeders.
(edit) My husband tells me he mixes safflower seed in with all our mixtures, except the niger seed.
I have found the most effective squirrel deterrent is running a strong wire between two trees about 40 feet apart and 10 feet up from the ground and attaching the feeder to it. High enough to keep the bears away and hard enough to walk on to keep all but the most Walenda squirrels away.