Um, Excuse Me

I was so astonished when I got home from errands to find a squirrel perched on the new/old feeder happily eating away at the birdseed that I didn't chase it away. When it left I went out to make sure that the perches closed when you put weight on them. Looking at the picture I see that the squirrel figured that out. Its weight is on the side of the feeder and only one paw is on the perch. Very crafty, that squirrel. While I was out there I cleaned the birdbath. It was a swamp.

 

This morning I looked out and saw a bigger, gray bird on the grass pecking away at bugs. It was a Flicker. I took two pictures that were both so blurry that I threw them away. There was just too much other stuff between me and the bird for the camera to focus on and I never remember to shift to manual focus in time to get the shot. So I went back in the archives and found a Flicker photo from a couple years ago so you can see how pretty they are.

 

But the best bird photo was taken by my neighbor this morning. She said she thought we had a baby hawk but I suspect what she saw was a Cooper's Hawk which is a small one. I can't tell by the picture what it is but it's definitely a hawk. Thanks, ED! I only wish I'd seen it too.

 

The drawing prompt today was Music and I thought of dancing. Drawing a whole person dancing seemed too daunting but I could draw the lower leg of a ballerina just fine.

 

I spied a Dad's rosebud when I went out to check the mail. It's tiny and deep red and absolutely gorgeous.

 

This morning I had a Zoom with KM, my virtual assistant. She led me through step-by-step posting a monthly email newsletter on MailerLite. I've been having her do it and thought it was probably something I could do myself with a little instruction. She even made me a little video to keep so I can refresh my memory next month. While we were talking I had a brainstorm. I asked her to design an 8.5x11 poster for Christmas at Seaview that I can put on a little stand on my sales table. As soon as we got off Zoom, she got to work, sent me three samples, I chose one, had it made at Office Depot, and picked it up before supper. Man, she's amazing. No matter what harebrained idea I have KM can make it happen.

 

After Jeopardy! (didn't get the final), I took a walk and popped in to find out how my neighbor is liking Better Than Mom's. She loves it. Couldn't say enough good stuff about it. That made me happy. 

I'm working my way down the packing list and cleared a few things out of the back of the car so I can put in my suitcase and writing crate. I cleared out the snow brush, a fire extinguisher, a coffee can with a candle in it (can you tell I married an Eagle Scout? I'm prepared.), and a kite. I put in my bag o'chair in case I need it at TC. Tomorrow I'll take out the booster seat/car seat for OJ and then I'll be ready. Filled up with gas and went to the bank this afternoon so I can mark those off my list. I need to address two birthday cards tonight and get them in the mail tomorrow for birthdays that happen when I'm away. Glad I remembered that. 

--Barbara