December 12, 2024
Good morning!
It’s Thursday, and we have our answer! Yesterday, at precisely three ripples past an acorn (Eastern Squirrel Time), I glanced out the window and identified the source of those delicate paw prints.
It’s been so long since we last saw him, I assumed he’d been promoted up to corporate. Or maybe he has, and this is Ralph Jr.? I can’t quite see his name tag from here.
What a thrill to see him back on the job, patrolling the back forty. I watched him at work for several minutes (as measured in acorn ripples). Occasionally he stopped to shake his head and jot something down on his clipboard before popping his pen back in his pocket and trotting along.
He seemed especially interested in issuing a citation to one of the voles that lives in the rock pile just up from our garden. And considering how many times the voles have made swift work of our tender seedlings, I’m ok with letting nature take its course.
“By letting each thing act in accordance with its own nature, everything that needs to be done gets done.”
―Lao Tzu
Onwards we go,
Clara
He's lovely. Far cuter than the possum that appeared inside the fence here. Ellie said not like. She got a mouthful of possum hair before I managed to split them up. Once I got the dog in the house, I watched the possum quit playing possum and leave. Whew. Then I had to text all the neighbors to apologize for screaming bloody murder twice. Woohoo, such excitement.
Awww I love Ralph!! I think foxes are so cool. I used to love seeing them when I was doing archaeological surveys on San Clemente Island. Plus the time I went to San Juan Island for Cat Bordhi’s knitting retreat my friends and I were exploring the island and came across this beautiful plateau that reminded me so much of San Clemente Island and suddenly out popped a black fox.