Could you please pass the suet?

I heard this fellow before I saw him. He started on the telephone pole across the alley and then flew down in search of goodies. I took a few photos through the kitchen window. I think these are such handsome birds. He is a male Northern Flicker, a kind of woodpecker.

I baked some croissants this morning from Trader Joe's. They make really good frozen mini croissants. You let them rise over night and then bake them in the morning. I always let them thaw a bit and then cut them in half so instead of 8 mini croissants I get 16 tiny ones. That works perfectly for my book club lunches and today was no exception. As always we had a great time together. I called Helen and we drove together stopping along the way so she could do a couple of errands. 

I know I rattle on and on about my lady painting friends. And well I should as they are all just fantastic gals. Smart. Creative. Articulate. Thoughtful. And so on and so forth. We have great fun together. Helen had to take off early so Sue took me home. We reopened a discussion we had about six months ago about her maybe renting my basement. That would be a great solution to my "what will I do with my big house?" problem. We are both just starting the discussion but I think it could work well. She came in for a chat and an exploration of the space downstairs. She was surprised at how big the biggest bedroom is. I think that made her even more interested.

Meanwhile I got a call from Jane about the new house I liked except for the steep driveway. Turns out the builder was willing to make a path that was level so I could walk to the street if the weather was icy. And he would replace the carpet in one room with wood or some other flooring that would work in an art studio. It all sounded great except for one tiny thing. When Jane asked the price for the house it was about $100,000 more than I could afford. So goodbye to that idea.

I warned Jane that I might not be buying a house at all due to my conversation with Sue. I didn't want Jane to waste her time with me if she had a "real" customer. She agreed to give other buyers priority but still to show me properties. Then we proceeded to have a long conversation on all manner of things not related to real estate and laughed a great deal in the process. I expect we will be friends, already are actually, no matter whether I buy another house or not.

When I was home, right around the time I saw the flicker, I decided to see if our local deer were about. One was lying in the flat spot where I often see them resting. She stayed and I took several pictures. They are usually quite relaxed when I am around with my camera. Finally she got up and I realized one of her back legs was broken. She could hardly get up. She limped off into the woods and I was distressed because I didn't know what I could do to help her. I am not sure if I called somebody that they could find her again so I didn't. But I am sad at her state because I fear she won't survive. So sad.