# Things that please you well beyond their actual importance **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 23, 2026, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-please-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1034096 "2026-10-23T14:48:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-please-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1034096/21 "2026-10-24T19:03:18Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > It always makes me happy to watch the birds in our garden from my living room window, especially when it’s a rare guest like a woodpecker. We don’t feed them, yet there are always birds, many different species. We sometimes get scrub jays, and they are fun to watch. Plus once in a while a Coppers Hawk, which gives “Bird feeder” a double meaning. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-please-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1034096/22 "2026-10-24T20:34:51Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > We sometimes get scrub jays I had to google scrub jays, and yes, they are beautiful birds. We have the Eurasian jay instead, which I also sometimes see from my window. > **[Eurasian jay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_jay)** > > 33 (in eight groups) - see text The Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius) is a species of passerine bird in the family Corvidae. It has pinkish brown plumage with a black stripe on each side of a whitish throat, a bright blue panel on the upper wing and a black tail. The Eurasian jay is a woodland bird that occurs over a vast region from western Europe and north-west Africa to the Indian subcontinent and farther to the eastern seaboard of Asia and down into south-east Asia. Across the vast Species ... ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-please-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1034096/23 "2026-10-24T22:29:01Z")
Watching my kitty’s cute butt wiggle as he trots down the hallway to his room for feeding time. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-please-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1034096/24 "2026-10-24T22:40:27Z")
When a cat climbs onto me and starts purring. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-please-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1034096/25 "2026-10-24T22:45:08Z")
It’s rather obvious by now that most of us get their kicks from animals, domestic or wild. What is it about us Dopers? I don’t know, but I like it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2026, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-please-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1034096/26 "2026-10-25T00:06:23Z")
> [@dwyr](#): > > Watching my kitty’s cute butt wiggle as he trots down the hallway to his room for feeding time. Yep. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > When a cat climbs onto me and starts purring. Double yes. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2026, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-please-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1034096/27 "2026-10-25T00:59:54Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > A couple days ago I grabbed my chainsaw. Haven’t used it in MONTHS!! > > Started on the third pull, ran all day Your mail is unrelated to the bear post upthread, I assume? ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2026, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-please-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1034096/28 "2026-10-25T01:55:30Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Started on the third pull, ran all day! Yes! Any time one of my two-strokes start quickly after a couple choke pulls, I’m very pleased. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2026, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-please-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1034096/29 "2026-10-25T11:28:14Z")
That’s why I love my Stihl. I would never buy anything else. Well… belay that. I’ve come to love my electric tools. Now I have an electric lawn mower, snow blower, string trimmer and leaf blower. I never have to ‘start’ them. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2026, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-please-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1034096/30 "2026-10-25T13:25:46Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > A couple days ago I grabbed my chainsaw. Haven’t used it in MONTHS!! > > Started on the third pull, ran all day! I gave away all my yard tools w/ 2 cycle engines and upgraded to battery-operated devices. Including chainsaw. What an improvement! ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2026, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-please-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1034096/31 "2026-10-25T21:41:19Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Well… belay that. I’ve come to love my electric tools. > [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > I gave away all my yard tools w/ 2 cycle engines and upgraded to battery-operated devices. I have mostly switched to battery operated, but I still have my 2-stroke chainsaw and weed whacker. They can handle things my battery operated cannot. But I am taking the much smaller and easier to transport electric chainsaw when we go up in the mountains (chainsaw is for clearing a tree that is blocking the road, not firewood gathering). ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2026, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-please-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1034096/32 "2026-10-25T21:51:13Z")
On warm days but cool nights when I finally switch from shorts to pants — it feels extra good to me. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Apodder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apodder/32/17727_2.png) [@Apodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apodder)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2026, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-please-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1034096/33 "2026-10-25T22:13:15Z")
Sitting on my deck eating an apple, then throwing the core out in the yard. I get great pleasure out of watching a squirrel (one of “the Braves” as named by my husband since they’re too brave…so clever 😏) run out and grab it and sit there nibbling. It’s the little things… ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2026, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-please-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1034096/34 "2026-10-25T22:51:58Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > It’s rather obvious by now that most of us get their kicks from animals, domestic or wild. What is it about us Dopers? I don’t know, but I like it. Count me in. I melt anytime I see _puppies_ (yaaaaay!!!) or kitties. And whenever I’m in the country, I keep my eyes out for deer, livestock, and any wild animals I might see. Right now the Asters (also called Michaelmas Daisies in the UK) are out, with their light purple blooms, and they are a reminder that fall is upon us. Yesterday I was on a hike and saw a lot of falling yellow maple leaves, which reminded me of back home in Canada. Such little things are always a pleasure, recur though they may again and again. Life has taught me to appreciate simple pleasures. Eating some bread and cheese in peace or quenching my thirst with a cup of fresh cold water without someone breathing down my neck has acquired meaning for me. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2026, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-please-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1034096/35 "2026-10-25T23:09:37Z")
> [@Apodder](#): > > Sitting on my deck eating an apple, then throwing the core out in the yard. I get great pleasure out of watching a squirrel (one of “the Braves” as named by my husband since they’re too brave…so clever 😏) run out and grab it and sit there nibbling. That reminds me that about a week ago, I saw a squirrel running around the backyard, until a hawk flew down and ended the squirrel. ---
**Author:** ![Apodder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apodder/32/17727_2.png) [@Apodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apodder)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2026, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-please-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1034096/36 "2026-10-25T23:56:54Z")
Well, that was…heartwarming…🙄 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2026, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-please-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1034096/37 "2026-10-26T00:00:32Z")
It certainly warmed my heart. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2026, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-please-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1034096/38 "2026-10-26T00:18:13Z")
Hawks gotta eat too. The highrise I live in has a couple of red-tailed hawks that seem to nest on the roof. I live on the upwind side close to the top and the hawks are often ridge soaring back and forth 20-50 feet outside at about my level. So pretty. And once in awhile you see one dive for prey among the trees & whatnot on the nearby golf course. Of course in turnabout, sometimes a small black bird (a blackbird?) will be harassing the shit out of one of the hawks and eventually chases it away. For awhile. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2026, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-please-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1034096/39 "2026-10-26T00:22:07Z")
Hawk got fed! Yay! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-please-you-well-beyond-their-actual-importance/1034096.md?page=1)