Bob Mount: Recognizing a leopard who has changed his spots

A man who sought a seat in the U.S. Senate from a mid-western state must have been kidding himself if he believed voters would consider him a serious candidate. He believed that marijuana should be legalized and that prostitution should be regarded as a legal occupation. He expressed his support of the Taliban in Afghanistan and disagreed with how the federal government was spending taxpayers’ money, so much so that he refused to pay federal income taxes for 14 years. He ran on the Libertarian Party ticket and was soundly defeated.

One might tend to assume that, considering the man’s beliefs and refusal to pay his taxes, his political career would have come to a screeching halt. It did not. A neophyte Republican running for a seat in the House hired the man as his campaign manager. The candidate won the election, served two terms, and proceeded to serve two terms as his state’s governor.

Understandably, the man was rewarded by the governor and was employed by a state agency over which he became head. He resigned not long ago and announced his decision to seek the Republican nomination for governor.

By now enlightened readers of this column will have recognized this leopard who changed his spots, from Libertarian to Republican, as Bill Johnson and the governor to whom I refer as Gov. Bob Riley.

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A couple of weeks ago I was sitting in my living room and was alerted by the cheerful chattering sound made by baby chimney swifts being fed. Chimney swifts are among several insectivorous bird species that capture their prey while flying, and which have experienced significant declines in relatively recent years. Several hypotheses have been advanced to account for the declines; one obvious reason why chimney swifts are not as numerous as they once were is a housing shortage, a decrease in uncapped masonry chimneys without metal linings.

I am pleased that the mosquito-eating little “flying cigars” find my premises a desirable place to spend their summers and to use my old-fashioned chimney to roost and raise their babies.

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My friend Tom Corley read my column about how goldfinches are attracted to mature seed heads of wild sunflowers and told me something I had never read or heard about before -that goldfinches are attracted to poppy seeds. He grows poppies and said when the flowers mature and go to seed, he could count on goldfinches appearing. I asked expert AU ornithologist Dr. Geoff Hill if he was aware of goldfinches being attracted to poppy seeds. He said he was not, but he is now. Thanks, Tom, for taking time to inform me of your observation.

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I subscribe to an inexpensive magazine published bi-monthly, Birds and Blooms, containing interesting articles and observations on birds and flowering plants, many of which are submitted by subscribers. I recommend it highly to people who appreciate nature.

Bob Mount is emeritus professor of zoology and entomology at Auburn University and writes a column for the Opelika-Auburn News.