This morning I threw a batch of chili into the crockpot, and was just reaching for the second jar of seasoning when I realized I’d put a teaspoon of dried garlic into a recipe than called for a quarter that amount. I managed to scrape out a good bit of it, and then put in the required teaspoon of dried onion, but I don’t think The Squire and I will have to worry about vampires for a while.
Yesterday I walked up our road about a half a mile, picking up aluminum cans and other trash. There was a plastic cup half buried in a pile of dried leaves, so I moved the leaves aside and disturbed a very annoyed juvenile ground hog. The little fellow could have sat in my cupped hands, but he was pitching a fit large enough for several critters. It was hard to tell which of us was the most startled by the encounter. He reminded me of a kitten – all arched back, fluffed fur, and sparks, but not really much to back it up. Except a set of teeth that looked as if they were ready for business.
Tsula, our mama fox, has obviously been coming down to the house early in the morning. (Cherokee for fox.) We’ve been making sure she has a good sized dinner in the evening, but you can certainly notice that foxy aroma at 8 AM. I did find about two-thirds of a squirrel’s tail on the walk one morning, but haven’t seen any bobtailed animals around the feeder, so I suppose she did get one at least. We are now making sure she gets breakfast in bed, as well as room service as night.
Eddie came to the door Sunday afternoon with a female cardinal in his mouth. I managed to get the bird, and The Squire locked the cat in the kitchen. The bird sat on my finger, panting, while I stroked her head and crooned to her. Once she’d stopped panting, I carried her outside, and she flew off into the trees immediately. I was going to put her in the bushes to catch her breath and get her bearings, but apparently that wasn’t necessary.
If the blasted cat was going to actually catch something, why didn’t he grab one of the vultures that hang around here? A grackle or a starling, for instance?
I am working a switchboard tomorrow, so The Squire and I went over to the library. I don’t like getting paid for reading a book, but you can’t make a switchboard ring, and I can’t stare at the wall for eight hours. While I was writing this, he started to read one of his science fiction books. I just asked him a question, and he popped to the surface as if he’d been sound asleep. “Huh? Huh? Wha..?”
He’s so cute when he does that.
thisendoftheswamp 
Leave a Reply