Friday, November 30, 2018

The Wild Life -- Outside My Window





















From the bedroom window I watched these little critters scurrying around and finally saw one going in the very convenient hole in a big poplar.

That hole has been there for years but this was the first time I've seen anyone using it.

But I was puzzled -- the tails seemed shorter than those of our usual gray squirrels. John's opinion is that these are young squirrels. Whatever they are, they have a nice cozy spot for the winter. 


Speaking of squirrels, the other day when Josie was here, she gnawed her way through most of a big apple. When she abandoned the still sizable core, I tossed it out under the bird feeder where a gray squirrel was foraging for dropped seed.  It landed a ways away from him and rolled off down hill  

He didn't seem to notice at first, then his head went up and he began weaving around, sniffing the grass and following the path the apple had taken, just like a hunting dog. He finally found where it had rolled to a stop against a fallen limb and got it in his mouth somehow -- the thing was three time the size of his head -- and off he went.

And then there are the deer. The same deer that destroyed much of our garden. Six of them on the hillside by our house. (All these pictures are through the double-paned glass of our bedroom windows.)


Relaxing in the sun. They're not too worried. When I let the dogs out, Layla and Bob tear off after the deer who yawn, stand up, leap the fence, and disappear into the woods. At least the dogs get some exercise.


Maybe what I need to do is to accept the situation. Next summer I could become a supporter of some of the many tailgate markets in  our area. And then I could set up a tripod and devote time that would otherwise have been spent in the garden to getting better pictures of our neighbors.



(This last picture is terrible But it's the first time I've caught sight of a mature buck on our property.)


Tuesday, November 27, 2018

A Messenger or a Symbol or a Luck-Bringer?


While looking online for the meaning of the cardinal's name, I found that some people believe these beautiful red birds are messengers -- that their name is from the Latin cardo, meaning an axis or a hinge and that the cardinal is the hinge on the gate between Earth and the spirit realm and the carrier of messages  between the two.


You are advised, on sighting a cardinal, to recall just whom
among your departed friends you were thinking of as the cardinal is bringing that person's message.

There were two cardinals the day I took these photos. Some 
days there are six or seven or more. The number of messages is overwhelming at times.



I also found that some Christians see the cardinal as a symbol of Christ's blood and of Christmas.

And some Native Americans regard them as lucky, believing that the person who sights a cardinal will receive good fortune in twelve days time. 

As we see cardinals daily and year round, the Native American belief is my favorite.


Monday, November 26, 2018

Just Wondering . . .


For what crime is it that the White House turkeys are pardoned?


And why is a wrongfully convicted person 'pardoned' when proven innocent? Shouldn't there be a different term? 'Exonerated' maybe?

'Pardoned,' it seems to me, implies wrong-doing which is now being forgiven.  Maybe someone with legal knowledge can explain this to me.




Friday, November 23, 2018

Thanksgiving Deja Vu . .



Our Thanksgiving-On-Wednesday was terrific -- so much so that we'll probably do it again next year. As long as Claui is working at the hospital, she will, of necessity, have to do some holiday shifts. And working Thanksgiving in order to have Christmas Eve and Christmas off seems like a good deal.


And a good deal for some of our other guests who had a second Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday with other friends and family.


Wednesday was a fine day. I had done most of my cooking ahead and was super organized, down to a list of when to put what in the oven. But. When it was all over and everyone had gone home, I realized that I had totally forgotten to put out the almond brittle for the pumpkin chiffon pie. 

No worries. Claui got off work a little early yesterday -- in time to come home and have leftovers with us. So we did, in a way, have a second Thanksgiving dinner. (Josie was partial to the gravy and the whipped cream.) 

And this time I managed to get out the almond brittle.