Woodpecker Day

Today was a Red-bellied Woodpecker day at the feeders. First this morning it was at the not-full suet nuggets feeder, on the back side as usual, but horizontal so both ends of it stuck out. It stays as long as it takes to peck out a big lump of suet and then it flies off.

 

I filled the feeders so it came back to the round feeder and spent a lot of time pecking and pecking in the feeding ports shoving birdseed onto the ground until it found a peanut half. It tried three of the four ports before it found the peanut and flew away.

 

The landscapers were supposed to come today to do the yard fall cleanup but I got a call that one of them (there are only two) sprained an ankle on Friday. She's got it wrapped and in an inflatable boot and they think they'll be able to come on Wednesday. In preparation for their arrival I refilled the horse head feeder with a smear of peanut butter in the opening and corn kernels in the snout. It'll probably be empty by Wednesday. Oh well.

 

Yesterday's gratitude journal was a pretty easy one. A bright sunny day, a little yoga, and a shower. What more can a person want?

 

I decided I wanted to paint today instead of draw so I booted up a flower painting video and painted this hyacinth. She didn't paint the background but I like it painted so I did.

 

A squirrel figured out that I filled the suet nuggets feeder so it wasted no time clinging to the feeder and nibbling away. It stayed a long time.

 

After I sent the Zoom link for tomorrow's critique meeting with cda, and went through the editing questions she sent instead of manuscript pages, I spent the rest of the day starting through the comments in the Manuscript Analysis of Three Cheers for Murder. I moved quite a bit of writing I like to my Darlings file and out of the manuscript. The major comment was about telegraphing the murderer too much and too soon. Most of the comments I kind of agree with, some of them are hard to face and follow. One of the scenes I had to rip apart was one with a Ouija board and the sleuth and her friend that basically pointed at the murderer. A lot of that one went into the Darlings file. Instead of just deleting sentences and segments, I put them in the Darlings file so if I decide I want them back, there they are waiting in the wings.

I took a walk this afternoon in shoes that I haven't worn in a while. They're supposed to be good to walk in but I think they're not good for that. They feel too stiff. They don't flex when I walk so I'll probably retire them. I have enough aches when I walk without my feet hurting too.

--Barbara