Out Back

Our new backyard---we love it! Ah, yes, Howard especially. No, we don't have the flowers we used to, but we have lots more shade from trees, and many squirrels call the trees home. Once I got my bird feeders up a couple of weeks ago, the word went out in the squirrel community: All you can eat Buffet!

Ah, but sadly, this morning after I returned from the gym, I opened the door to let Howard out, only to immediately usher him back inside. It appeared that survival of the fittest had been in action in the back. A squirrel lay on the brick patio, dead. It appeared to have fallen from the tree far, far above (there are several squirrel nests in them thar trees). I cleared the body away, called dead animal removal (so it doesn't sit in the garbage for six days), and washed away the blood. Sad, but then again, the squirrel population isn't served well by having a squirrel passing along the "I can't run along a tree branch safely" gene. Sigh.

But the birds come too! I have a lot of cardinals---males and females---and a few doves who regularly enjoy the safflower seed I put out. (Here there are more cardinals and fewer doves. Hmmm---guess being closer to St Louis, makes sense. ;-) Anyway, several other varieties have been hanging around the feeder, but I haven't been able to get a good look yet. I'd like to get another feeder up soon. But the tree branches are a bit too high for my long hanging hooks, so I need to get another ground pole. Eventually.

Howard, however, distracted by watching out for squirrels, tends to ignore the birds now. WooHoo! He'd gotten in the habit of chasing birds back in Texas---I have a strong suspicion that a mockingbird did a little dive-bombing shortly before we moved. But now, Howard will often go out the door, stop at the top of the steps of the back patio, then dash across the yard to the back where the feeder hangs. Often, two or three squirrels scatter---leaping to the safety of nearby trees. It's quite a sight!

Here are a few shots of the back. In most, you can see Howard, first surveying the trees after his initial dash out to the back, and in later shots, just hanging out, sniffing and watching. (The building at the back of the yard is my garage; yep---it has an extra room to the side of it. The building has electricity, and with a window unit, could even be useful. But for me, it's just extra storage---lots of extra storage! (which is actually mostly empty right now.))







Here are a few more of Howard---soaking up the sun while keeping watch on the trees, hanging out on the patio, then stepping up to give me a kiss on the steps. What a sweetie!







Of course, I haven't forgotten Sophie! She has wondered into the backyard once---totally under my supervision. She smelled everything and had a good time checking things out, but she still most enjoys hanging out near the air vent. I figure it's like her little spa treatment.





Sophie also has found her basket of toys. I keep them in the same spot as before--in a basket on top of the piano. Her favorite toys are pipe cleaners, of all things! Most mornings I awake to find two, three, sometimes four pipe cleaners on the floor in the study or bedroom. It's our game: I pick them up and return them to the basket, and the next night, she goes hunting again---bringing me, of course, her prey.

And thus, yes, she goes outside only when supervised. After all---pipe cleaners are a little more tame to hunt than the things that really lurk in the outdoors.