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| This morning's sunrise. If you look closely, you can see birds flying past. |
We all know that this can be a depressing time of year for many people with darkness falling before it feels like the day should be over. I am one of those people sometimes. But I like the darkness, too. Darkness makes me slow down. Darkness lets me sleep longer. Darkness lets me see more sunrises. And stars. So am I looking forward to longer days? Absolutely. But am I enjoying the beauty of the darkness? I'm trying.
Squirrels
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| Our old feeders. |
During the light of day, the squirrels have been providing their own kind of entertainment. We had bird feeders set up so that we could see them from our kitchen window. We tried different places, but that seemed to be the best. However, in that spot, the squirrels got to the feeder easily and thus ensued the battle to keep them from eating all of the food. We didn't mind feeding them, but when they were on the feeders, the birds did not come. After various attempts at deterring them using baffles, loud noises, and peppered food, we invested in new squirrel-proof feeders. We've had "squirrel-proof" feeders before that the pesky acrobats have been able to defeat, so a lot of research went into the our latest purchase. So far, the squirrels have not been able to get to the food. But, boy, did they try and that's been fun to watch. However, they have finally given up. Now, maybe they'll visit my neighbor more who puts out food just for them. Hopefully, we will be able to build the bird population that visits us with the squirrels finding their food elsewhere.
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| Our new feeders. |
In other squirrel news, last Saturday we had a mild day and I used it to do some yard cleanup that I hadn't gotten to earlier. And what did I find? A green tomato buried in the day lily patch. It was about the size of a baseball with a bite taken out of one side and perfectly preserved. I left it where it was, so if the squirrel remembers, he can have a green treat this winter.
Until next time...
(which according to plan should be tomorrow.)
The partially eaten tomato is pretty funny. I love squirrels. They keep us entertained. We have one very aggressive squirrel who chases other squirrels away from areas he (I assume it's a male .... seems like male behavior to me!) wants to be. A couple of weeks ago a bunny ended up in our back yard and he was terrorizing the poor thing. My hubby finally took pity on the rabbit (after we laughed .... ) and chased it out of our yard and away from the aggressive squirrel.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen a squirrel chase a bunny, but I have seen them be aggressive with each other. I'm always amazed with their acrobatics. I guess that's a useful skill when you live in trees.
DeleteThat is a beautiful sunrise. On the rare days when I wake up early enough (around 6:00 a.m.) I look out the back door to see if I can see the sunrise, but, because there are some hills in the distance and a two story house right behind my one story house, I rarely see anything. I do get to enjoy the sunsets from my living room window, though.
ReplyDeleteAs for squirrels, I love seeing them! But, the garden cats tend to keep them away. Which is probably a good thing, especially when the peach tree bears fruit! Too funny about them burying a green tomato! I hope it remains fresh for them. Wonder if you'll have some volunteer tomatoes growing in your lily patch, next year?
We have a good view of the sunrise, but the sunset is obscured mostly by trees unless we go out into our driveway.
DeleteVolunteer plants are the best, but the day lilies are in an area that was treated for termites. Although the chemicals have been declared safe, I probably wouldn't eat a tomato that grew there. That will be too bad because those were good tomatoes. Hope the squirrel or some other creature enjoys it.
The other upside to earlier sunsets and later sunrises is we have more opportunities to see the holiday lights of our neighbors. But I am really looking forward to longer days.
ReplyDeleteAnd there seem to be more lights than ever this year, so that makes it extra special.
DeleteSomehow I missed this post yesterday.
ReplyDeleteI like to watch squirrels, but I also find them easy to dislike!
Your sunrise photo is gorgeous!
We had another pretty sunrise this morning among the clouds. That was before everything became gray and the snow started. The snow has its own special beauty, said by someone who doesn't have to go out today.
DeleteThat upside down squirrel has talent!
ReplyDeleteThey are amazing to watch with their skills and their antics.
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