Squirrels and birds

Bailey called this weekend to tell me what a wonderful Thanksgiving she had at Sugar's house. All the Keswicks and their guests were invited, and even the Rudd family. It was very crowded in Sugar's dining room, but because the weather was warm, the kids ate dessert outside. She said her favorite pie was pumpkin with squirts of whipped cream. She wanted more turkey leftovers for sandwiches, but Sugar bagged up a lot of pieces for company to take home. Bailey was especially happy because her mom called from Costa Rica. They had a long chat.

Bailey also said that she was watching squirrels making a nest in one of Sugar's tall hickory trees. They selected small branches with brown leaves on other trees, then jumped to their home tree and scurried up to make the big nest. Bailey hopes she will be able to see their babies.

She also told me that the mystery of the bearded birdhouse has been solved. Sugar has bluebird houses in her yard. They are wooden with a large hole in the front and a door that can be opened so that Sugar can clean out old nests. A few weeks ago the strands of nest started hanging down from the hole, making the birdhouse look like it had a long pointed beard. Yesterday, Sugar saw a male bluebird pulling out pieces of the old nest. Bailey put extra meal worms in the bluebird feeder because he was working so hard.

I told Bailey that with all the warm weather we have a problem in our garden. We planted wildflower seeds after the first frost, but now they are sprouting. So, we don't know if we will have flowers at Christmas instead of in the spring.