Fantastical Friday! #23.

Good morning everyone! It’s another beautiful day, the sun is almost shining but it is mostly cloudy so it’s likely the sun won’t get a chance to show up today. It will still be there however, providing the life giving energy that we need. Skamper was here fairly early this morning which was a surprise. He’s the only chipmunk to show up so far. They might all stop coming around in the next day or two as the weather cools down. It was 72F (22.3C) yesterday and sunny. It was just a fantastic day again. Today it’s supposed to be 63F (17C) with showers and thunderstorms. Cooler on the weekend with rain.

So we will be back to more normal fall weather. That’s okay, it has been a great fall so far. All the different birds are here this morning. Ricky landed on the feeder while I was still putting the food out, so I talked to him a bit while he ate. He even stayed a little after he finished eating. He has gotten to be very friendly. My 8 evening grosbeaks are still here too which is nice. Theodore has become a daily visitor again this fall, hopefully she will stay around. We had another talk. “Are you ready for winter Theodore?”

Gerbil, gerbil. “Yes, we had winter, but it comes every year and it will be here soon.” Gerbil, gerbil! “Oh, no one told you it’s a yearly event? Well, it is, so I hope you’re growing your winter feathers.” Gerbil, gerbil. “No, don’t faint, you might fall off the bird feeder and hurt yourself.” Gerbil, gerbil. “You were wondering why you were molting again? That’s likely it, getting ready for winter.” Gerbil, gerbil. “Yes, it would be hard on those long legs of yours, they must get cold.” Gerbil, gerbil. “Maybe you should fly south with the geese? Not a bad idea, much warmer down there. But they also have a lot of turkey hunting too. There’s no hunting here.”

Gerbil, gerbil. “No, no, don’t faint, you’re still on the feeder.” Gerbil, gerbil. “You’re going back into the trees for a while? Good idea, bye for now.” Gerbil. And off she flies. There were two barred owls calling to each other overnight, one was very close, the other further away, perhaps down at the river. I heard a great horned owl earlier in the week. It would be nice to get a picture of one of these big owls. A fox was around overnight too, plus the raccoon was here as well. It was a busy night. No bears though which was nice. Anyone for more coffee, there’s still a bit left. Have a great day everyone and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

©2021 Steve McLeod.