[klondike mary] bye bye

[klondike mary]

I don't know if I am smarter than a 5th-grader, but there is someone/something I can outsmart, though it is not very nice of me.

[GalFisk]

Someone/something: one entity? Two? More? An animal? A technical device or system? Would outsmarting this be: mean? Dishonest? Petty? Exploitative? Cruel? Pointless?

[irishelk]

Is it not nice: to the someone/thing? To someone else? To yourself? Just generally mean or bad manners?

[klondike mary]

Someone/something: one entity? Two? More?One entity/group made up of many entities.An animal? Yes.A technical device or system? Would outsmarting this be: mean? Dishonest? [b]Yessish.[/b]Petty?[b]Yessish.[/b]Exploitative? Cruel? [b]Yope leaning to no.[/b]Pointless?There is very much a point to it.

[klondike mary]

Is it not nice: to the someone/thing? To someone else? [b]to the aforementioned entity.[/b]To yourself?[b]No, it is good for me.[/b]Just generally mean[b]Depends on one's POV.[/b]or bad manners?[b]Manners n.r.[/b]

[irishelk]

You can outsmart an animal? A group of animals? A certain species of animal?

Is the animal a pet? Domesticated? Wild?

Is food involved? Water? Spoken commands? Hiding something?

[trebor]

Are the animals human? Mammalian? Are they your pets? Animals that feed on your property? Rodents?

[klondike mary]

You can outsmart an animal? A group of animals?[b]Yes.[/b] A certain species of animal?[b]Yes.[/b]Is the animal a pet? Domesticated? Wild?Wild.

Is food involved? [b]Yes, no to the rest.[/b]Water? Spoken commands? Hiding something?
Are the animals human? Mammalian? Are they your pets? Animals that feed on your property? This, no to everything else.Rodents?

[JenBurdoo]

Are they insects? Bees? Birdies?

[klondike mary]

Are they insects? Bees? Birdies?No to all. I'm sorry, I overlooked the last word in the last question. They are, in fact, rodents - a specific type of rodent.

[Earnest]

To be sure: are we talking about real animals? virtual ones?

Is the reference to the 5th-grader relevant? Or just a comparison?

Can you outsmart them more than once?

it is not very nice of me. --> because the animals would suffer/die? Someone else would suffer?

In outsmarting them, do you obtain an advantage? If so, a physical advantage? (e.g. employ the movement of a group of animals to produce energy? to drag something? to entertain people? To gain money?) A scientific advance? (e.g. they are guinea pigs? animals to be tested?)

Can you outsmart a certain group of animals belonging to that specie? All the animals belonging to that specie? Do you trap them? Is the food a trap? A way to attract them in a specific place? A reward given after they obey/do a certain action? Maybe a target to reach but that is unreachable until you want it (e.g. food at the top of an hamster wheel)? Specific type of rodent --> rats? hamsters? squirrels? skunks? beavers? others?

[klondike mary]

To be sure: are we talking about real animals? virtual ones? [b]Real animals. Correction: They are not rodents, but birds. For a moment, I forgot which puzzle I was working on.[/b]

Is the reference to the 5th-grader relevant? Or just a comparison? [b]Reference to a quiz show: "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader."[/b]Can you outsmart them more than once? [b]Hopefully.[/b]

it is not very nice of me. --> because the animals would suffer/die? Someone else would suffer?[b]I would be taking a food source away from them, but I'm sure they could find another.[/b]In outsmarting them, do you obtain an advantage?[b]Yes[/b]If so, a physical advantage? (e.g. employ the movement of a group of animals to produce energy? to drag something? to entertain people? To gain money?) A scientific advance? (e.g. they are guinea pigs? animals to be tested?)[b]No to all of these. My advantage is that I am putting 'them' at a disadvantage.[/b]

Can you outsmart a certain group of animals belonging to that specie? [b]Yes.[/b]All the animals belonging to that specie? Do you trap them? Is the food a trap? A way to attract them in a specific place?[b]Food is involved, but I do not give them food. [/b]A reward given after they obey/do a certain action? Maybe a target to reach but that is unreachable until you want it (e.g. food at the top of an hamster wheel)? Specific type of rodent --> rats? hamsters? squirrels? skunks? beavers? others? [b]They are birds. Sorry - I should not run more than one puzzle at a time involving animals![/b]

[trebor]

Are the birds a nuisance to you? Do you enjoy their visits? Do they feed on something in your yard? On your house? In your garden? Drink from a fountain/pond/pool you have?

[klondike mary]

Are the birds a nuisance to you? YesDo you enjoy their visits?Not particularly.Do they feed on something in your yard? On your house? In your garden?This. Drink from a fountain/pond/pool you have?

[trebor]

Is it something that you planted? If so, relevant specifically what plant? Is it edible by humans? A flower? Would you just have to uproot it? Cover it? Spray it with something that would make it unappealing to the birds? Encage it?

[JenBurdoo]

Is a bird feeder involved? Is the food trapped or protected in some way?

[klondike mary]

Is a bird feeder involved?No. Is the food trapped or protected in some way? Yes, I am trying to protect the food, by, in a sense, 'booby-trapping' it.

[klondike mary]

Is it something that you planted? Yes.If so, relevant specifically what plant? Yope, leaning to yes. Is it edible by humans? Yes.A flower?A fruit. Would you just have to uproot it? Cover it? Spray it with something that would make it unappealing to the birds?I am doing my best to make it not attractive to birds. All other q's, n.r. Encage it?

[trebor]

Apples? Berries? Peaches? Figs? Oranges? Another citrus?

[klondike mary]

Apples? Berries?Of a sort. No to the others. Peaches? Figs? Oranges? Another citrus?

[trebor]

Something that is called a berry but isn't? Strawberries?

[klondike mary]

Something that is called a berry but isn't? Strawberries?[b]Yes and yes! So how do you booby-trap a strawberry?[/b]

[trebor]

Do you put fake strawberries in the bush as well? Do you connect something in some way to the strawberries? Do you rig up live wires to all the strawberries and then electrocute the birds? (Sometimes it's frightening where my mind will go...)

[klondike mary]

Do you put fake strawberries in the bush as well? Yes!Do you connect something in some way to the strawberries? Do you rig up live wires to all the strawberries and then electrocute the birds? (Sometimes it's frightening where my mind will go...) [b]Yes, it is![/b]
trebor

I like strawberries. Crows also like strawberries, and will eat mine before I get a chance to Some handcrafty persons make an art/avocation of painting pebbles or small stones, so I was inspired to paint some small stones to look like strawberries and leave them around the plants. The birds tried to eat the fake berries and were frustrated and went away - for a while at least.
Bye bye, blackbird!

[klondike mary]

Oh, that's the ***********SPOILER******************