Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Daily Pics #296.
Good morning to everyone! And it’s a very beautiful morning indeed! The sun is shining and it’s already 41F (5C), which after the last couple of weeks makes it feel like spring has arrived already. And it’s supposed to be 12C (54F) this afternoon. That will make it perfect for working on my bird feeder setup out here. Hopefully this new idea will make things better…no guarantees though. Muffin will be watching carefully out the window while I work. I’m sure she would like to be outside with me, but, that is just not possible. It’s much safer for her to be indoors, too many dangers out here if she was to run off by herself somewhere. Wolves come into town regularly and grab cats and smaller dogs. Plus the greatest danger coming from two-legged types. People, that is. I’ll leave it at that. So Muffin can sit in the sun and watch me make things better for the birds, and for me too.
Very little activity this morning, there’s even less blue jays than normal. Still a few juncos, who showed up first this morning. It was barely getting light when I went out to put food out there for them and they were already showing up. A white-crowned sparrow showed up yesterday. He must have been trapped by the cold somewhere else and now that it’s warmer he is on the move again. First time I have seen one in November actually, normally they would be gone by mid October at the latest. I tried for a picture since he didn’t seem to mind being on the deck with me out there too. So I get my camera, he sees it and he’s gone down to the ground, where it’s harder for a picture among all those raspberry plants. Sigh. I need to camouflage that camera somehow. There was 3 pine grosbeaks at the feeder yesterday afternoon, so they are still around, perhaps when the cold weather returns they will be more regular visitors. The redpolls are still here as well. Nice enough this morning to enjoy sitting out there with my coffee. The blue jays still came down for their peanuts. No one else was around, except the juncos on the ground. No chipmunks. No Jasper. No Theodore. Sigh. A brief reprieve from winter’s effects, but winter has not gone.
Well, we are continuing with some of my favorite summer pics this week, and these are certainly not all of them. I might do this again at some point. For our featured image is Pocket, I had asked him to stop and look at the camera and this is what he did. I know he didn’t understand me, but it was perfectly timed. Right after he left, a young Jasper made his first appearance sitting on my knee. Not the best pic, but because it was his first time makes the pic one of my favorites. I hope you all have a wonderful day and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2020 Steve McLeod.
20/20 Investigations, Inc. The Curious Letter. Chapter 5.
We got in the car and I pointed out the man across the road to Lena. “This is getting more scary all the time,” she said. “I wouldn’t worry too much just yet,” I said, “but turn back into town, drive around a bit and then come back out here and we’ll see if we can shake these people.” So she did and she kept going up and down streets for about 20 minutes then went back out to the road to go out to the farm. There was no sign of anyone following us until we had gone about 30km, then a car came up behind us very quickly. Suddenly they pulled up beside us and tried to force us off the road! Poor Lena was terrified so I told her to stop quickly which she did. The other car also stopped and started to back up. “Now what are we going to do?,” asked Lena. “Watch,” I said, “come cats.” All 3 of us got out and got in position right away. When the two people got out of their car I pulled my gun. They got right back inside their car, turned around and headed back into town quickly.
So the cats and I got back in the car and I told Lena to get going, which she did. “I didn’t think they would leave so quickly,” I said, “that’s very odd.” Meow, meow.=They make themselves look tough, but they not tough. “They might still be tough Muffin,” said Lena, “but it’s not easy getting a gun here.” “Criminals can always find ways,” I said, “but perhaps they didn’t want a confrontation right then. “Do you think they will be back?”, asked Lena. “Yes, I think so, no doubt they have been watching you for some time already and likely know where you live,” I said, hoping I wouldn’t scare her too much by saying that. “There’s a good chance they are behind all the odd things that have been happening,” I continued. Lena just looked at me. We came to the road that went to her grandparents farm. “It’s still another half hour down this road,” said Lena.
We talked a bit more about the letter and what the treasure might be. Apparently no one had any idea what this treasure is, which was curious in itself. Finally we were at the farm and pulled up beside the house. It was a large, old farmhouse, but in excellent condition. There were numerous other smaller buildings around and one large barn, all of them looked old, some not in very good condition either. Lena’s grandfather met us outside and Lena introduced us. He told Lena that her grandmother was not feeling well so she went in to see her. “Lena has been filling me in on the case, Mr. Dubois,” I said. “Please call me Charlie,” he said, “I’m not sure if there really is a treasure, my wife and Lena are convinced there is one however.
Our family has been looking for many years, then the letter gets lost, until we find it again. And the strange things, did Lena tell you about them?” “Yes, Charlie, but I’m sure there is a reasonable explanation for those things,” I said, but first, was there any other buildings on the property years ago which are no longer here?” “Yes, Chantelle’s grandfather mentioned some buildings, we found a couple of stone foundations over there in the trees, but two buildings he had talked about, we never could find,” he said. “But that was in conversations with him many years ago, things have changed a bit since then,” he added. “Have you searched the attic for more information?,” I asked. “No, not really, Lena has been up there a bit, but there is so much junk up there, it’s hard to find anything,” he answered, “but you are welcome to look up there as much as you want.”
“Thank you, I would like to do that after I have a look around the property a bit,” I said. “Good, I show you around,” said Charlie. “Come along you two,” I said to the cats. “I know it may sound strange, but these two cats are my helpers, and they really do help a lot with different things,” I said. Charlie just said they were nice looking cats and then proceeded to show me all around the area. Lastly we went into the barn and he showed me where the bale of hay had fallen from the loft. “Kind of odd it could fall down from there,” I said. “Yes, that’s what I think too,” he said quietly. Then I mentioned the people who had been watching us in town and along the road. Charlie turned pale at the news. “They have finally found us,” he said, his voice shaking a bit.
To Be Continued.
Photos of Mr. Cat are supplied by his human, Nina.
©2020 Steve McLeod.
