Good morning and Happy Monday everyone! It’s a beautiful summer morning, a little smoke and some clouds moving in. No more of this coffee on the deck for me this summer, though I suppose it would be safe enough if I sat right next to the door and kept my bear spray handy. But knowing me, if a bear came around I would probably spray my coffee cup instead of the bear. And that wouldn’t help anything, plus it would destroy a perfectly good cup of coffee. Sigh. So I’m inside, sitting at the door where I can still see my little chipmunks and they can look up at me while I talk with them.

And yes, they really do look at me when I talk. They know my voice and they can see me through the window. They have often stood up on their hind legs stretching as much as they can just to get a better look, even before I start talking. They are incredibly cute little critters and very lovable. They also like to have their tummies rubbed. Well, the older ones do, the younger ones haven’t discovered the joys of a tummy rub yet, but they will eventually. I think I mentioned that Pocket wasn’t around for a while, he’s back now, so maybe he was adding some extra storage rooms after all. He’s back, that’s the main thing. Although Chester and Skamper are not too happy about it, since Pocket is the top chipmunk.

While he was gone Skamper and Chester were having “discussions” about who would be the next top chipmunk. I guess those “discussions” have been put on hold now. Scooter, one of the baby chipmunks who has grown quite a bit, though still small, is turning out to be a little fighter. Not a mean one, but he doesn’t back down easily and he will even chase some of the bigger chipmunks, except for the top 3. He did try with Chester but he ended up yelping and running off as fast as he could go! But he must have been watching and came back right away when Chester left. The gulls were here early for their breakfast again this morning. The chickadees also came early again today.

They are coming every day now, but I only put out just a few seeds for them at a time, just in case the big black hairy critter decides to drop by. I don’t want him finding much food if he does. These bears are going to make things a bit hard for fall bird feeding. And it’s necessary to start feeding in the fall to get a good bunch of regular birds for the winter. However, I think my plan should work out fine even though it will be a little extra work. Oh well, yesterday turned out to be such a nice summer day. The afternoon was sunny, just a light breeze, warm and no smoke. I was out in the afternoon chasing bees, trying to get as close to them as possible, without getting stung of course. There was a time when I would have thought that people doing things like that were missing something upstairs. Now I know it’s true. Oh well, have a great Monday everyone and God bless!

Steve and Muffin. (enjoying some fishing on a smoky morning is the top photo)

©2021 Steve McLeod.