Nuts to you SquirrellyO

At our house we love squirrels.
I get a big kick every time out of my hubby, Obiwannabe, when  he calls us to the door or window to watch  our squirrel.......sitting.
We have made many offerings to Oh Wonderful and Most furry of  the Yard, may she always avoid the tires she taunts.
Having worked at a rehab place for wild critters before, I had a litany of  yummy and healthy people foods that she would like.  Eventually they all dehydrated nicely on the concrete of our back veranda.
Recently we were given three bags of pecans. Our squirrel, I'll call her Oh for short, found these acceptable. So acceptable were they that she allowed us the honor of her presence.

Whenever I see Oh I long for the smell of squirrels. Having cared for my share of  their orphaned babies I  can tell you that they have a lovely scent.  As far as I know there is nothing like it.

Go ahead. Sniff a squirrel. You know you want to.

We are not limited to squirrels though. And not everyone is as pleased about Oh being around as we are. There is a bird that I have not yet identified.

I don't know if this one is male or female but I do know that no stinkin' squirrel is going to mess with it's nest!
Just below the eave  it is standing on is a tall hedge. The other day when I came home Oh and the bird were having it out.  Squirrels have a hard time resisting bird eggs. It is probably like dessert to them. Evidently this kind of bird has a very strong craving for heart of squirrel.

  As I pulled into the driveway Oh was bounding across the yard with Pilot (yeah, the bird) doing some sort of  heat seeking kamikaze thing near the flying furry end of her tail.  After circling our big pine tree a few times but not able to get in under Pilot's radar Oh lept into the hedge.  I breathed a sigh of relief thinking that now they would both be happy and safe. But nooo. Kamikazi Mommy actually flew into the hedge!
 I had the sense that I was watching a live cartoon as the hedge shook and shivered accompanied by shrieks and chipperings. Oh flew out of the middle of the hedge and with Pilot guiding the way from behind, made a hasty retreat out of the front yard.

Not all of our wild life is as exciting as all that. So tell me, why does the green anole that basks on our porches bring out the paparazzi in us?  It's true that we never see him hunting or defending  anything. But when you look into his eyes you see the wisdom of the ages.

You see it. Don't you?

Sometimes we just sit out on the veranda, He in his chair, me in mine. We don't share words but we do have long talks.

I had better run now. Fraulein Maria can't entertain Scout all day.

And I'm off! No really, I am.

If I never do a first entry I will never do any. That is why I will do this today and not tomorrow like I did yesterday.   This is just like what my friend of 18 years, Cowbell, says. When you are older it is harder to make new friends because it is impossible to catch them up on your history. And who wants to hash all that out anyway? History aside, today I have progress reports to do and I have to figure out what I will say at our schools award ceremony.  Sounds important, I know. The truth is I am a part time teacher at I private school that I have surreptitiously insinuated myself into.    Yeah nepotism!! I have two students to present awards to and I don't know what to say.  It will come to me I'm sure. Just a little nervous.  Scout, my six year old daughter, is up and waiting for me to read to her out of our present reading project,  Peach Tree Island by Mildred Lawrence.  This thing was copyrighted in 1948 and our copy is actually pretty young when you consider that I was 15 when it hit the press.   I think my older girls read this book (same copy) but I never had.        It is not a great piece of  literature but it is introducing some new vocabulary to her and darn it! I understand what it means. I guess it isn't so much new vocabulary as it is new usage. errr, old usage.  Uncle Eben says that Mrs. Halloran will have his head.  To an extremely literal 6 year old that could be scary stuff. Mrs. Halloran tells Cissie, and I quote...... see," My land of goodness! blah, blah,  blah, blah."   I think I found where Cissie and Jodie, the twins from that old sitcom, Family Affair, got their names.  I only make reference to that because T.V. Land once existed. Off I go then to read an irritating old book, drink some coffee, think about drinking water and not write my thoughts about two much improved boys until just before the ceremony.   Later.