Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Wednesday Words. #5 Oh Deer.
Good morning everyone! Well, it is another cold day, though not quite so bad as it has been. It is about 5 degrees warmer. Okay, that is not much, I admit, but it is something. Tomorrow night is supposed to be the last very cold night, at least for a while. It is cloudy again this morning as well. Usually it does not get this cold when it is cloudy, but it happens, like today for example.
The chickadees, nuthatches and at least 2 blue jays have been here this morning. There are only a dozen chickadees now by the looks of things. There was about 30 of them at the beginning of winter. It could be the shrike that is responsible for the reduction of chickadee numbers. There are at least 4 nuthatches still, down by 1. It is such a change from last year when on February 1st I had around 200 birds coming to the feeders and double that number by the middle of February.
The buck above is one I called Major.
This is the least number of birds I have had since moving to this apartment. I am going to try and feed birds well into spring this year and hopefully I can attract some new birds around to photograph. And hopefully I will not attract some big, black, furry animals to my feeders. That might be quite a challenge, but I do want to try anyway. I had some different birds show up last year, so I would like to try again. It is a great way to bring birds in close enough to get some nice pictures of them. I am sharing some deer photos today.
For those who may not know, these are all White-tailed Deer. And they do have very bright white tails. The underside of the tail anyway. When running from danger they always raise their tails causing that bright white to show nicely. Actually, they will do it every time they run, even when they are just running around for fun. And they do enjoy running around. There was a doe out here last weekend doing just that. She was out back here running in a large circle up and down the hill.
This is Mama D and one of her fawns.
She was not running away from something, she was just running. I did not think they would do so in cold weather, but obviously they do. Muffin was just up for her midmorning snack and now she has gone to bed on top of some tall shelving I have by the west window. She likes it up there. It is close to the ceiling where it is the warmest, plus she can look out the window from there and watch the birds in the trees. What could be better? It is February now.
Even though there is likely 3 more months of winter, it still feels good to be in February now. We are about half way through winter, the days are getting longer, about 1 hour and 25 minutes longer now. Mostly in the late afternoon. But we are gaining some daylight in the morning too, just not as quickly. Spring. Such a nice thought.
Another photo of Major.
It is warmer. More photo opportunities. It is warmer. New growth beginning. It is warmer. Much better for walking. Plus it is warmer. A lot of good things about spring. Sigh. Muffin agrees with me too. She is not excited about winter at all this year. The sun is shining again. And it is time for another cup of coffee. I hope you enjoy the winter photos at the top of each post. Thank you for joining us again today! I have another story ready for tomorrow. Have a wonderful day everyone and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2023 Steve McLeod.
The Investigators, Inc. The English Hotel Case. Chapter 9. Practice.
After we had a very large breakfast of pancakes, bacon, eggs, fruit and too many other things to even think about, we sat down to study the floor plan some more and let M know a little about what we had planned. “This is the main control room,” I said, “from here they control all alarms, protective doors that close in these 3 locations to lock people inside this main room if the alarm is set off. There are also 2 guards inside, plus a guard up here and another over here, overlooking the floor below.
They carry big guns, and they know how to use them rather well. Over here is a door that leads to this corridor that goes up to this control room. That door remains locked at all times, so we will need to pick that lock to get in this corridor and take over the control room. Unfortunately, there is always a guard standing either beside this door, or directly across from it.”
“Then how would you pick the lock?” asked M. “Well, Sigurbjorn is our locksmith and she can open anything,” I said, “but we do not have our tools with us. Do you have a good quality set of lock picking tools?” “Oh yes indeed, the very best there is,” said M smiling. He sent his man to get them. He came back shortly and they were indeed fine quality tools. “These are very nice,” said Sigurbjorn, “I should have no problem.”
“Good, now for the guard,” I said, “that will be a job for Galyna, she will distract him long enough for Sigurbjorn to do her job and for her and Kristina to get through the door without being seen. Fortunately the security camera, because of the curve in the hallway, cannot see the door. So the girls will be safe. And Sigurbjorn can open the door just as quickly as someone using a key, so it will not attract attention from anyone.
They will go inside and take over the control room and shut off the alarm to that display in the middle of the floor where the diamonds are on display.” “Then all we got to do is scoop up those diamonds and walk out of the place,” said the M’s man. “And get shot by these 2 guards before you had finished scooping up the diamonds,” I said to him shaking my head.
“Idiot!” yelled M and he hit his man in the stomach. That dropped him to his knees while he made quiet, squeaking type noises. “Do not mind him,” said M, “he is not very smart at times, but he has his uses so I keep him around.” “I understand,” I said, “not everyone is good at everything. But on this job, one tiny mistake can get everyone killed and the diamonds staying where they are. We want to relieve them of those beautiful gems.
We will only get one chance, if we fail, they will increase security to make it impossible to steal them. Right now they are relying a great deal on their electronic surveillance and alarm systems to guard those diamonds. Plus those four guards with the big guns. Sigurbjorn and Kristina will take over the control room, turn off the alarms and then take care of these two remaining guards.
Crystal and I will be waiting our turn below, grab the diamonds, wrap them in her skirt which I will hand off to one of your men who will run through the crowd and into this office and out this other door into the corridor and outside through this emergency exit. You can be parked on that side street and take off as soon as the diamonds reach you. Then I would suggest leaving the area completely and getting out of the country right away. I would also suggest changing vehicles before leaving the city.”
“Wow,” said M, “this is so exciting, I am nearly breathless listening to you talk about it!” “It will all come down to timing,” I said, “if we all do our parts just right, there should be no problems. But we should practice a bit to get some timing just right. Like running the distance of this corridor to see how long it will take. If we cannot do things fast enough, then we will have to try for a night job, but that will be even harder since they will have extra alarms set.”
“Hmm, yes, I agree with you,” said M, “I do like the daytime idea best too.” “Good, how about tomorrow?” I asked M. “Splendid!” he said, “then you can do your practicing today and get a good rest tonight. Do you think morning or afternoon would be best?” “I was thinking afternoon,” I said, “there will be more people and that will make it harder for guards to watch everyone, which is what we want.”
“That is just what I was thinking too!” he exclaimed, “you and I think so much alike, no wonder we get along so well. Now, I must have a nap before lunch, you may do the same if you wish.” “Good idea,” I said…
To Be Continued.
©2023 Steve McLeod.
