Although John is not at all impressed by our squirrels, he can’t help being amused at times. One chilly morning I heard him chuckling as he looked out the kitchen window at his least favourite “fella,” which was, he said, “tucking its front paws into its armpits to keep warm.” John always rued the fact that next door’s cat, an avid hunter the rest of the year, took its annual winter vacation indoors! Now that it has moved away with its people - the population of those chattering critters seems to be multiplying. To keep said squirrels out of the large bird feeder, John’s latest obstruction was a wide metal “skirt” affixed around the shelf just above the sturdy legs. It worked - until the roof was covered in soft snow. Squirrel jumped from the nearest tree, landing in that chilly white stuff. From there it was an easy acrobatic swing down onto the flat surface of the feeder loaded with wonderful munchies. John was soon out there removing the snow, so it once again presented an impossible slippery slope to any leaping squirrels!
They never quit trying! Squirrel has figured out how to get into the three-layered feeder for the small birds hanging from a rafter on the back porch. Going above it, he drops down onto the lid, which he then dislodges. In a flash he’s inside and greedily gulping the apparently delicious tiny black seeds. Few remain so he wants more. Clambering out, he shimmies down to the next two layers. Lacking a beak, he is now frustrated because he cannot get anything! I imagine he’ll be racking his brains for another ploy. Methinks John won’t be filling the top again - and that lil cutie probably knows that too!
Kay and the dogs
Our neighbours’ dogs visit regularly, reading their version of morning paper in our yard and others. We know many of them by name and are happy to see them, as are any friends’ doggies we happen to have on hand at the time.
This particular morning, when I spotted him, one was checking things out just below our living room window. When I walked over to watch, he looked up. I waved; he wagged his tail in greeting! Can’t be happening, I thought... I waved again - and once again he returned my morning hello by wagging his tail.
The sky
When we first moved here from the Kootenays, I had a difficult time orienting myself.
“We have moved, but the sun hasn’t,” my long-suffering husband informed me. “It still rises in the east and sets in the west!”
Oh... After viewing many beautiful sunrises from the windows at one end of our home, and admiring spectacular sunsets at the opposite end, I think I might know where north is - at long last! Checking out the night sky through those windows is my last “task” before bed. Sometimes the streetlights are the only bright spots out there, but when clear, we see Orion displaying his sword and protected kneecaps. The moon, even when full, hides behind the many trees in Sunshine Valley.
One night, however, my timing was just right to see its light reflected upwards from the skylight in the garage roof. It was at least as good as seeing the real thing.
The birds, which John devotedly attracts, provide us with so many special moments that they’ll fly into the next Trekking Tale.