Good morning! It’s Saturday, and Patrick wanted to say hi. As you may recall, Patrick is our chipmunk. He is all our chipmunks, whether past, present, and future, including the Patricias. They all go by Patrick, understanding that such a familiarity earns them a greater shot at birdseed every morning.
When my 15 year old granddaughter was visiting, Jerry was the name of any squirrel that appeared on the deck or under the bird feeder. My grand had even taken to feeding him/her/them, but that came to an end when he/she made an aggressive leap at the screen door, gripping with all four legs, and chucked at us.
Awww I love Patrick!!! For years we have told our son that “no” is a complete sentence. Now that he’s in middle school he’s told many of his friends about it especially if someone is getting bullied or if someone is feeling a lot of peer pressure.
I need to remember that for when I am conversing with my 8 year old grandson!! You made me laugh out loud this morning! You are the second 'laugh out loud' moment I had this morning; the first one was from Franklin Habit regarding an AI attempt to translate a crochet pattern. That one made me laugh until tears rolled down my cheeks! This is a morning to be deeply grateful so thank you once more for an uplifting part of my day. On my wish list is the opportunity to meet you in person; keeping my fingers crossed!
THe comedy show of nature - and you see the humor in all of it.
We're watching with great amusement the trio of baby squirrels newly arrived to the kitchen bird feeder location. They run in circles, chasing each other, TAG you're IT!! Jumping a foot off the ground and zooming all around.
That was a laugh out loud story. I can picture every bit of it. Gary would probably love it at our house. We only have gray squirrels, and they have given themselves free ownership of the bird feeders. Between the squirrels and the grackles, the little song birds have a time getting a seat at the table.(These gray squirrels must have cast iron mouths too, as they happily eat the hot bird food mammals are not supposed to like.) They also thumb their noses at our kitties, and go Nanny Nanny Boo Boo at them. Enjoy all the fun.
Our bird feeder has been ravaged by grackles, not a pleasant bird. We’ve closed the restaurant to reset for our favorite songbirds and woodpeckers. Our nameless squirrel friends focus more on the gooseberries, also traveling in ravenous troops during drought. Perhaps they need a water feature in our humble yard?
Love the quote. We have quite the gathering in our back yard as well. The squirrels are very pleased with the one crow that is a very messy eater and scatters seed everywhere. The Stellar Jays, Band-Tailed Pigeons and other Crows have quite nice table manners. It’s such fun to watch.
The ducks and ducklings wander around, finding food at several well stocked yards, even going on to patios in our community. Not shy about making nests around gardens either !
The turkeys have found the buffet under our bird feeders this year. And a very brave squirrel managed to get onto a feeder. It was the feeder that has a spinning ring...he went for quite a ride before falling off.
Also - noticed this recently about Anne Lamott - "Her next book, a collaboration with her husband Neal Allen, will be Good Writing (Avery Penguin Random House, March 27, 2026)."
"tried to mediate by presenting them both with seed"
Transportation engineers say something similar happens when highways are (expensively) widened with more lanes to ease traffic congestion. Traffic most often increases, making for even worse congestion!
A profound (if often painful) lesson there of learning to live within sustainable limits, whether car driver or chipmunk.
I'd been going to ask about Patrick!
Sorry Patrick , the party is over! Now I have some petticoats to iron and some cartwheels to practice!
Good story!
When my 15 year old granddaughter was visiting, Jerry was the name of any squirrel that appeared on the deck or under the bird feeder. My grand had even taken to feeding him/her/them, but that came to an end when he/she made an aggressive leap at the screen door, gripping with all four legs, and chucked at us.
Awww I love Patrick!!! For years we have told our son that “no” is a complete sentence. Now that he’s in middle school he’s told many of his friends about it especially if someone is getting bullied or if someone is feeling a lot of peer pressure.
I need to remember that for when I am conversing with my 8 year old grandson!! You made me laugh out loud this morning! You are the second 'laugh out loud' moment I had this morning; the first one was from Franklin Habit regarding an AI attempt to translate a crochet pattern. That one made me laugh until tears rolled down my cheeks! This is a morning to be deeply grateful so thank you once more for an uplifting part of my day. On my wish list is the opportunity to meet you in person; keeping my fingers crossed!
😊
This is another variation on why we can’t have nice things. ☺️
THe comedy show of nature - and you see the humor in all of it.
We're watching with great amusement the trio of baby squirrels newly arrived to the kitchen bird feeder location. They run in circles, chasing each other, TAG you're IT!! Jumping a foot off the ground and zooming all around.
That was a laugh out loud story. I can picture every bit of it. Gary would probably love it at our house. We only have gray squirrels, and they have given themselves free ownership of the bird feeders. Between the squirrels and the grackles, the little song birds have a time getting a seat at the table.(These gray squirrels must have cast iron mouths too, as they happily eat the hot bird food mammals are not supposed to like.) They also thumb their noses at our kitties, and go Nanny Nanny Boo Boo at them. Enjoy all the fun.
👍😂😂😂
We had to 86 all birdseed a few years ago due to gophers rototilling (free of charge) what little grass we had.
Bummer!
Our bird feeder has been ravaged by grackles, not a pleasant bird. We’ve closed the restaurant to reset for our favorite songbirds and woodpeckers. Our nameless squirrel friends focus more on the gooseberries, also traveling in ravenous troops during drought. Perhaps they need a water feature in our humble yard?
They do need water too. A small bird bath would probably be very welcome.
Totally ❣️
Yes
Love the quote. We have quite the gathering in our back yard as well. The squirrels are very pleased with the one crow that is a very messy eater and scatters seed everywhere. The Stellar Jays, Band-Tailed Pigeons and other Crows have quite nice table manners. It’s such fun to watch.
The ducks and ducklings wander around, finding food at several well stocked yards, even going on to patios in our community. Not shy about making nests around gardens either !
The turkeys have found the buffet under our bird feeders this year. And a very brave squirrel managed to get onto a feeder. It was the feeder that has a spinning ring...he went for quite a ride before falling off.
Also - noticed this recently about Anne Lamott - "Her next book, a collaboration with her husband Neal Allen, will be Good Writing (Avery Penguin Random House, March 27, 2026)."
Ooooooooooooo
"tried to mediate by presenting them both with seed"
Transportation engineers say something similar happens when highways are (expensively) widened with more lanes to ease traffic congestion. Traffic most often increases, making for even worse congestion!
A profound (if often painful) lesson there of learning to live within sustainable limits, whether car driver or chipmunk.
Great point, well made. I too had heard this about widening roads.
Omy! True wisdom!
Good point! This also makes me think of how one’s expenses always have a way of expanding to exceed whatever one’s income may be.