39 degrees is the high today.. and it's 38 right now. Typical fall blending into winter weather.. Rain, wind, snow.. Ugh! But if we want to see the rainbow, we gotta have the rain.. though today I doubt there will be any rainbows.
As long as I don't have to drive on the ice and snow, I'm a happy camper and content to let nature be... not that I have any control anyway.
More than half of the tree leaves are on the ground now. Sadly, except for a couple oddballs, they are all brown or shades of dirty yellow. It hasn't been a beauteous fall as in other years. The rain and wind this week have done their damage.
We are still enjoying watching the antics of the local squirrels.. 2 are definitely resident, and we've seen another one too. My bag of apples that I kept outside to keep the fruit fly population down in the house has been depleted by raccoons.. or one very health conscious raccoon.. Wendell says he saw it digging in the bag a day or so ago. I really don't care to have a raccoon around here. I prefer the silly squirrels. The raccoon (or perhaps another larger animal) has done damage to the tree and the squirrel feeder we have. The feeder box is shredded on one side- not something even Rocket J Squirrel could have accomplished. And the bark on the tree is ripped up too. Looks like the work of something other than our little squirrely friends.
I took my bag of peanuts outside and sat down to watch them. The feeder box was empty. I wondered if they would come closer to get a treat. I placed 3 peanuts in the shell on the picnic table. One lonely squirrel sat on the box and scolded me furiously, it's tail gracefully snapping in the air. I finally gave in and tossed a handful of the peanuts in the box.
I think our squirrels are liberal Democrats.. they demand what I have worked for and paid for out of my own pocket.. as if they were entitled to it.. HAH! And when the birdseed goes in the feeder, they will be there stealing the bird's feed. Yep! I got their number!
I will also keep feeding the little thieves through the winter. They do give us a degree of entertainment.
It is such a joy to live in the country. One gets a first hand view of God's creation(s).. and can appreciate a little better. When was the last time a herd of 10-14 deer marched by in YOUR front yard? Often I've considered cutting down those crab apple trees, but they feed the deer all winter long. I'm glad John posted the property against hunters.. we supply a refuge for wildlife.
Of course, Charlie would disagree.. they do crop damage too..but then they also go to the other neighbors gardens and fields too. It's not like we have the only food in the neighborhood.. they just don't get shot here indiscriminately.
The groundhogs are another story.. they are despicable little creatures that cause more than just a little damage.. like eating the insulation off the bottoms of cars.. and take one bite out of a piece of fruit and then go to the rest and do the same.. and dig huge holes in the ground trying to get under our house.. (they failed at that thankfully) Moles are another nasty.. they dig their tunnels through the yard, and when I walk outside I trip on them as I sink down into their hidden tunnels.
Rabbits are entertaining in a fashion.. we call them all "Doug's bunny".. (it's a long story)
We don't seem to have as many bunnies this year- a few.
Lots of different birds keep us birdwatching all year long.. the hawks, pheasants, all summer, crows, nuthatches, robins, blue jays, woodpeckers, cardinals and hummingbirds.. among the many we identify.. I remember one year we had a Baltimore Oriole build a nest high up in the trees.. the nest looks like a sack. Haven't seen any since. And don't forget Charlie's Angels..'the girls', his chickens.
Have a super day, bloggers..
No comments:
Post a Comment