When in doubt...

...go with cute.  And there isn't much cuter than a chipmunk, especially a little go-getter like Scoobie.  He hasn't mastered the famed "chippie double-pouch" wherein a peanut is tucked in each cheek pouch, but he did, never-the-less manage to get into his burrow with two peanuts.  Not the prettiest getaway, but effective.

We had a heavy frost last night - made me glad I'd plugged in the heater for our bird bath.  That was the good news.  The less good news was that we apparently had a big furry visitor (bear) to the patio last night and I'm missing one feeder (a very nice one, too, dammit).  I did a quick walk around the yard to see if I could find the feeder, but I think our nocturnal visitor must have hauled it into the woods.  He left the two cheap suet cages (emptied of their contents of course) on the patio, along with a couple of toppled crooks/branches that were holding the various feeders.  So, now I'll be bringing everything in at night.  Oh well.  

We loaded up our fireplace this morning and turned off the heat in the house - our downstairs has been blissfully warm and toasty all day.  There is something very comforting about a fireplace, isn't there?

Two red-breasted nuthatches have been around all day - I heard one "yanking" when I went out to get the morning paper and soon saw them making trips back and forth to one of the remaining feeders (suspended from a clothesline too high for inquisitive bear paws).  What a delight.  

While I was standing outside watching the birds, a small Sharp-shinned hawk came careening in, less than 10 feet from me, and tried to grab a meal.  He seemed to see me at the last second and veered off - which is probably the only thing that saved a chickadee or titmouse from becoming a meal.  I know everyone's got to eat, but I'm glad it didn't happen in our yard.  Not right now.

Hubs and I are taking good care of each other right now.  

xo
Debbi