Monday, September 28, 2020

September 28, 2020 Monday 1:30pm

Good afternoon!
I know it's hard to tell but the tree on the right is starting to turn. 
 I am always curious to see if they change right to left every year.  Has begun no differently this year...despite it being such a strange and backward year--LOL!
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Since I last chatted with you--Caroline came to clean on Tuesday; Leah made an indoor bigger monthly trip to Costco and I made a pot of soup on Wednesday; Thursday I made up a batch of Annie food using liver and beef hearts; Friday I did laundry and that is when--besides the usual visitors...  
...I had a new one!!  Whoohoo!! 
You know how much I LOVE my thirteen-striped ground squirrels!! 
When I moved to the chair closer to the window it just shows the screen better--LOL! 
Annie was absolutely thrilled to see the ground squirrel, too! 
And it has been back every day since! 
Annie has been spending a LOT of time by the patio door. 
You can definitely tell Annie spent time hunting food when she lived on the street in her youth because watching our little friend makes her hungry. 
Annie has to take regular breaks to the pantry to grab a few morsels from her food dish...which cracks me up.  ;) 
The ground squirrels and voles (which have disappeared this year) and small birds make her hungrier than the larger partridges. 
Maybe she knows these are a bit to large for her to tackle successfully? 
She watches their every move, regardless.  But I notice she just isn't as compelled to make quick trips to snack on some kitty kibble when the bigger birds are here.  Maybe she is too lost in planning and fantasy?  Or she knows when they get scared and fly away they don't come back quickly like the small birds do?  Annie does LOVE her CatTV!
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I watched a compelling series on BritBox this past week called The Street.  Caused these old eyes to well up more than once.  Each episode is fly-on-the-wall type knowledge of some family on the street.  Good actors.  Only three seasons made and I didn't want it to end!  Has anybody else seen it?
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Still am tired and achy and dragging myself around.  Added extra vitamin D and B12 to my daily pills a few days ago and am hoping that might help.  Time will tell.  Meanwhile, Annie and I have been spending these fibro flare days (many weeks now) quite nicely.  The hint of Jack Frost in the air seems to lift out spirits, regardless.  Annie has been racing about the apartment like a kitten and was even chasing her tail one day!  That was even before the ground squirrel showed up.  The cooler weather and Rita's Critter Cafe being reopened really has wound her up--LOL! 
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Anyways, I hope they don't trap or kill this sweet little ground squirrel.  It has avoided the poison traps they put out along the outside walls for the voles...that are still out there...but the voles are not.  I haven't seen a ground squirrel for soooo long!  I can't remember for sure, but I don't think I saw any at all last summer.  I thought they were gone for good.  Well, it will only be coming to grab seed until hibernation time.  It knows I have food here so will be less likely to try the poison traps.  I will gladly help it stock up for the long winter.  :) :) 
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This little critter has brought me great joy these past few days.  Annie also--but in a different way--ROFL!!  Me--I am having childhood memories of the tall prairie grass fields next to the lake when I was a kid...skinks, dragonflies, toads, frogs, salamanders, mallards, turtles, garter snakes, meadowlarks, red-winged blackbirds, crows, bats, flickers, monarch butterflies by the thousands on the milkweed...and thirteen-striped ground squirrels.  Annie--she is salivating as she remembers the thrill of a successful kill and tearing through that fur to get to the warm meaty flesh.  Very different memories, indeed, but a joy to both of us, nonetheless.  ;)
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In fact, as I peek up from the dining room table I see the little ground squirrel filling her pouches in the middle of many sparrows pecking away.  Canadian geese just flew overhead.  Their constant squawking conversation is a sure sign of spring and fall up here.  I often wonder if they are discussing where to go, how far to travel, where to hold up for the night...or if they are just plain excited to be in formation on their journey?  No matter how many geese in the formation it always sounds to me like 2 or 3 of them are calling back and forth.  Maybe the current leader and the one in the back--checking to see everyone is okay--letting them know if they need to change up leaders?  I read somewhere that they take turns being the one on point because it is the more exhausting position.  I wonder if that is true and maybe why they need to talk back and forth all the time as they fly?  I ponder things like that all the time--LOL!
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Anyways, till next week, my friends...stay safe and be well.  :)
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"In difficult times carry something beautiful in your heart."
Blaise Pascal

17 comments:

Rita said...

My comment to hopefully get your comments--if Blogger/Google will let me. ;)

Deb J. in Utah said...

Hi Rita - I love this post. I love watching little critters too, and in fact there is a little squirrel friend in my last post. I have sure enjoyed watching hummingbirds in the garden this past summer, but alas they have migrated south for the winter. The leaves are started to turn and fall from the trees here too. I was excited to get your letter and will be replying soon! Have a good week.

Jon said...

Thanks for an interesting post. Autumn is definitely in the air. It is getting chilly here in Tennessee. No frost yet, but I have extra blankets and keep the windows shut.
The ground squirrel is so cute and I love the photos of Annie watching him.
This is a great time of year for homemade soup!!

Janie Junebug said...

That little ground squirrel looks sweet and harmless. I hope he continues to stay away from the poison. I wish I knew everything that goes on in Annie's head. I haven't heard of that show. It sounds good.

Love,
Janie

Bonnie said...

I have never seen a thirteen-striped ground squirrel! You have taught me something new! It looks a little like a chipmunk but I can tell it is not one. We have dozens of tree squirrels in our neighborhood and our yard. I love to watch them as they can be so comical at times. Of course our cats, like Annie, love to watch them too. I'm happy to hear Rita's Café is keeping both you and Annie busy!

We have a lot of Canadian geese here too and yes, you can sure hear them when they fly over honking to each other. Many of them stay here all year which surprises me since we can get pretty cold and icy winters.

You take good care of yourself and enjoy all those sweet furry and feathered visitors!

Anvilcloud said...

I didn't know that ground squirrels existed.
Hoe lovely for you that it has chosen you and you, it.

DJan said...

I just love this post. The feeling is one of gratitude and your pictures show how nice it is to be safe and warm with lots of furry creatures to enjoy. And your quote at the end is perfect. Sending you lots of love. :-)

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Watching the visitors to your patio feeders is far better than news watching, Rita. And, you are certainly keeping Annie entertained with "live" action. We only have an AcornTV streaming subscription so haven't heard of the BritBox show mentioned, but will check with OR friends who have a subscription. Now, you have me thinking about soup and as soon as the temps drop back into the 60s it will be on the menu as I have dried bean soup mix in the pantry. The colors are changing here in NE, but not quite there yet in our favorite walking park. Hopefully by the weekend after rains and cooler temps after. Glad you are feeling better too.

jinxxxygirl said...

Love to read of your pondering on the geese Rita... I'm a ponderer too... I ponder things all the time.. I think its fabulous that we question the world around us.. not just go through life with blinders on.. so easy to do that.. Hubby and i had a good conversation on distilling and how it works the other day... and realized neither one of us is sure how it works...lol I'm sure it will end up in a google search.... Hugs! deb

Lady Fi said...

Lovely Annie - and love your squirrel!

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

So many cool photos that brightened my morning thank you for that

Divers and Sundry said...

I do love the seasonal changes! Your ground squirrel looks kinda like our chipmunks except our chipmunks don't get that big. Geese stay here all year, but we do sometimes see little groups of them in their V formation flying overhead.

Far Side of Fifty said...

Sometimes the Canadian Honkers remind me of women at a tea party gossiping away! So glad Annie enjoys her yummy looking visitors!

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I am SO far behind. Catching up is hard to do. Love the cute squirrel. I can't believe the apt. complex poisons Voles. Isn't there a more compassionate way to remove them? I hope the squirrel makes it because you definitely are feeding it so it doesn't have to look for poisoned food.

I get a few Canadian geese here, too, but most stay here, since people feed them. I pondered what you pondered. what a great idea because I ponder other things, too. Hope your week is going well, dear. Hugs to Annie, too.

My Tata's Cottage said...

I sure love your stories. Have you heard from Carl? I Pray and am worried about him. I know the difficulties of all there is to do after such a sad loss. I miss his blog, he is so bright and history oriented. :-) I made a pot of Hearty Cowboy soup. The hubby took some to work, said it is delicious. Today is the first day they are able to bring their lunch and use the microwave and fridge at work. I guess the partners looked at the food bill buying lunches all these months! Thanks for wishes for Jake, he is such a great guy! Treats are daughter so beautifully. All three girls married good guys. One is ornery (Roger), one is goofy and silly (Zach) and Jake (kind and quiet). Our lone DIL Brittany loves her phamily too so it is a good thing. We love seeing our grands. Hannah and Jake have lots of chipmunks. They are so cute. We only see them in the higher altitudes here in Colorado. We have lots of wild rabbits, geese and squirrels. The geese hang out at the open spaces and other local parks. But they observe the rules of the road better then people do!
I hope your weke is wonderful and appreciate all your kind visits. Have a good week! HUGS and LOVE

pearshapedcrafting said...

Just checking how far back I need to come and find that a comment here got lost! I showed hubby the ground squirrel and Annie and remember writing about that and the fact that we both seem to have had very similar opportunities to see plenty of wildlife in our childhood. We didn't live near my school so if I ever had school friends over it involved a journey for them (one I used to walk myself sometimes ) my fun was had by cycling from village to village with a bottle filled with water and a couple of sandwiches, but oh the views and the wildlife - they made up for only seeing maybe a couple of people close to each day! I'm working towards the latest post of yours , Hugs, Chrisx

Harvest Moon by Hand said...

That's so cool that you have thirteen-striped ground squirrels right on your patio! I loved reading about all the memories you had of animals and birds you saw growing up. Annie looks like she could easily take out one of your visitors. At least seeing them keeps her alert and entertained.