Cyril the Squirrel

I tried to make a collage of the acrobatics Cyril went to to get to this spot, and then turn himself upside down so he could actually reach the food which was down to the lowest hole,  but they didn't capture the subtlety of his moves. He climbed up the skinny pole (designed to discourage squirrels) reached over to the feeder with his front paws for a precarious hold, then pushed off with his back feet, hung upside down briefly while he searched for purchase, then wrapped his body around the feeder, hanging on to the perches while using his tail as a counterbalance. We haven't seen him for awhile, but he's back now that the bottlebrush behind him has grown tall enough to provide him with a launch pad for the maneuver.  He might have a mate somewhere but we haven't seen her yet. Unlike the ground squirrels the grey ones have never been too numerous, but Cyril, now that he has gotten a grip, is definitely giving the birds a run for their money.

I made it to Pilates today swathed from knee to ankle in elastic. I found a good support sleeve for my knee and decided to wear it to bed. It hurts more when I'm not moving it which is mostly at night. When I looked at it this morning, the swelling seemed to have moved down to my ankle and foot, so I added a colorfully striped compression sock to the ensemble. Although I approached the class somewhat tentatively, I don't seem to have done myself much harm. I am curious to see what I learn from the orthopedist next week....

Just as I was finishing up the hand sewing bits of the current quilt, I got a message that my sewing machine has been repaired so I'll be able to pick it up tomorrow. Well, I  won't, but hopefully I can bribe John to come with me to carry it.  I made it through strength training but we used three pound weights, not a 35 pound sewing machine. I'm pretty sure he'll do it for a couple of beers.