Flying Leap
I have never googled the intelligence level of squirrels. Mylee informed me recently that the size of the brain has nothing to do with the intelligence of the living thing in which the brain resides. I’m not sure she’s right, but I would never argue against Mylee. She pays attention in school. I will tell you, however, that we have a very smart squirrel. In my continuing battle with squirrels v. my bird feeder, I have done what I could. I have my potted plants far away from the feeder. I spray Pam on the feeder stand regularly. Nevertheless, I looked out my window the other day and saw that Bill had momentarily left the wheelbarrow unattended right underneath the bird feeder. The squirrel quickly jumped up on the wheelbarrow and made a successful leap to the feeder. Successful, that is, until I ran out screaming obscenities at him. As I have said in the past, I’m not sure why I’m so opposed to squirrels eating my seeds. They, too, are God’s creatures. But yea, they get on my very last nerve.

Chickadees
Every year since we moved into our house, we have had house finches that make nests in our trees and dine at the bird feeder (when the squirrels aren’t there). For some reason, this year there is not a finch to be seen. Instead, we have chickadees living somewhere in our yard and dining at our feeder. I think they might be nesting in one of our apple trees. In the evening when we sit out, I see a lot of flitting around in that tree, and a lot of their characteristic song, which sounds like, well chick-a-dee.

Market Visit
I was so jazzed up from my visit to the Asian market day before yesterday that I immediately texted Addie and asked her if she would be available for a field trip. We made the surprise trip yesterday, and she enjoyed the experience very much. She had taken a school trip to Japan last year, and recognized some of the goodies that were available. Her eyes lit up when she saw the Pockys. She apparently enjoyed them very much — and very often — while in Japan.

Coins in a Fountain
We have a fountain in our back yard that was there when we bought the house. Bill has puttered with that fountain for nearly 29 years now. It’s made out of stones, and the water runs down to a little creek that then goes into a pond. Almost every year he has made the fountain part shorter. This year, it looks like he is going nearly to the dirt. He’s got his pick and his hammer, and every day it gets shorter. Yesterday when Addie came for lunch following our trip to the market, she just sat and watched him work. “He’s unbelievable,” she said. Yes he is.

Ciao.