For the Birds

When John and Donna Pflueger moved from Flagstaff, Ariz., to a remote national forest homestead outside the city last fall, their rustic life amid the ponderosa pine soon took on shades of vintage Hitchcock. "I have lived in remote areas all my life," said John. "But I've never seen anything like this before."

It all started when the Pfluegers' water supply turned an unsavory purple, and later black. John found that woodpeckers had drilled holes in the water tank's wooden top and dropped in acorn after acorn. After he drained the tank and shoveled out their stash, about 100 Ibs. of acorns,...

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