For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Good morning once again everyone! I hope you are all having a nice day! For Muffin and I the day started bright and early. Well, it wasn’t too bright, it was dark actually, mainly because it was so early. I was tired yesterday so I got to bed nice and early, which proved to be not very helpful. It was only 40 minutes earlier than normal so I thought that would be okay, but half an hour later than my usual bedtime I was still awake, trying to get comfortable. It was slippery yesterday due to melting the day before. Sunday the temperature hit a nice 40F (4.3C), but no real melting since the sun is too low in the sky now.
But the snow softened a bit on the deck, then froze Sunday night and was solid ice the next morning. I went out very carefully to put food out for the birds and…slipped! That pulled muscles in my back and gave me a sore neck. Which is why I had trouble with sleeping last night. Then I was up between 1 and 2:30, then got up at 4:30, after trying unsuccessfully to sleep. Oh well. These things happen. Which is why our day started early. Muffin was happy and we had fun playing for over an hour. She is now on top of me sleeping. I kind of wish I was doing the same.
It actually warmed up overnight with a strong south wind blowing. The birds are busy. The squirrels are busy too, having their “discussions” and chases and more “discussions”. Poor Jasper. He’s going to lose weight trying to defend his territory, or maybe I should say, take back his territory since Slim took it from him last summer. Now Slim doesn’t come around much since he moved across the street. But there is squirrel 2, that I have now named Garnet (a mineral found in this area, sometimes considered a semi-precious gemstone). Jasper’s name is also a mineral.
So I might keep that trend in names for any new squirrels. It is going to be mild again today and tomorrow, might even get some showers, which is bad, makes more ice as we move back to colder weather on Thursday. Anyway, Garnet is becoming trouble for Jasper, constantly trying to get over here for peanuts, and he makes it sometimes. Until Jasper spots him. Then the chase is on. So far Garnet has not tried to fight Jasper, he just runs and chatters a lot. Yesterday I was watching Jasper digging through the snow, down he went until he disappeared and dirt started to fly. Up he came with one of the walnuts he buried in the fall. He remembered where it was, even buried beneath 10 inches of snow.
And it was not beside any visible marker, it was out in the yard, and he found it first try. Not too bad. Blue jays have been studied and it was discovered they can find food they hid more than a year earlier. Gray jays, crows, chickadees, nuthatches and many others are the same. On the way to my friend’s yesterday I spotted some deer in a yard. In the group was a large buck laying down and a smaller buck that looked like he was trying to challenge the big buck. The large buck was ignoring him, which is a good thing for the small buck. But I did get a couple nice pics of them anyway. Guess it is time to toss out more peanuts for the blue jays. Have a wonderful day everyone and God bless!
Steve and Muffin. (the moon pic at the top was from late yesterday afternoon)
Β©2021 Steve McLeod.
windy, cold (50s F) and rainy here today.
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Oh, sounds nice! We hit 40 again today with sunshine and very windy.
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Always a delight to check in on your happenings. The photo of the deer is amazing as they seem quite content to ignore the camera man. Steve, take care of your sore muscles and be stay. I’m finally experiencing more relief from a sciatica flare-up.
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Oh, those sciatica flare-ups are bad, I haven’t had one for a while now thankfully. I hope that goes away completely for you.
Thanks so much. Yes, the deer didn’t pay any attention to me at all. I’m sure I could have gotten even closer to them.
Thanks for stopping by Richard, have a nice peaceful evening!
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Falling again ! π€π itβs a wonder that you can walk ! Take care Steve ! Strange shape for the moon…good pic ! Enjoyed the pics ! And your narration about Jasperβs escapades ! ππ»π
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Thank you so much Sharon! Have a good night!ππ»ππ΄π·
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Oh Steve, please be careful. Sounds like my restless night a couple nights agoπ
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Thanks Kim.
Sleepless nights can certainly be tough.π
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They sure can be.π
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So beautiful photos of deer and squirrels πΏ The storyline fantastic .giving them food and slipping and pain πso kind of you ππ»πthis winter time animals birds and squirrels so hard time also they happy I think the food was there , home ππtake care , the mist very thick and hurt also βοΈ have a happy Wednesday and grace wishes ππ·πβ€οΈ
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Thank you so very much for your kind and beautiful comment today! It is a nice mild day, with fog and a bit of rain, unusual for us in December. But it is nice to be outside and enjoy the nice weather anyway. Have a good night!ππΊπ»ββπΊββπ
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So awesome climate there also βοΈβοΈKentucky so badly destroyed this cyclone π’UTube saw πnow worldwide climate changing , take care π
Thank you so much for sharing your lovely life stories and inspiring βοΈπ
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Thank you very much! Yes, Kentucky got it so bad, and right before Christmas too. It must be hard for all those people. Have a wonderful day!ππ»βββπππΊ
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Praying the people’s health π·ππΌπ· have a nice Thursday to you and Muffin πππΌβοΈπ
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Thank you, I hope your day has been going well!ππ»ββββπΊπ
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Same thank you ππΌπ· here raining whole day , cold weather β
How you feeling , no pain ? Take care πβ€οΈ happy Friday ππΌπ·
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You do get a lot of rain.π³β I still have a lot of pain, but it is getting a bit better. Thank you for asking! And a very happy Friday to you also!ππ»βββββπ¨π¨πΊπ
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Thank you so much for lovely reply message π·πβ₯οΈ which part you having pain please apply ice bags , must get good relief,try and see ππ»π·take care π
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Thank you so much, I will give it a try!ππΊ
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Grace wishes and thank you for responding ππ·β₯οΈπ
Sure will get relaxation ππ»π·
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Thank you so much π π
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I hope you are recovering from your fall. I like your naming scheme for the squirrels. and that is amazing that Jasper can find a walnut he buried a few months ago…
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Things are improving a bit, thanks Jim! Yes, quite amazing that Jasper could find it under 10 inches of snow.
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