Busy Monday for The Squirrel

There's an industrious squirrel building a nest in the Live Oak tree in our backyard. My three cats were watching her progress this morning... all three in the screen porch, with their little necks stretched out and up as far as their little cat-muscles would go.

Back and forth went the squirrel, from the nest near the top of the tree, to the fence along the end of our yard. She was collecting small branches from other trees, carrying them along the wood fence, jumping to the tree, traveling up towards her nest to arrange her new home. I'd guess that seven out of every ten of her branches made it to the nest. The others fell to the grass in our yard. As the squirrel went back and forth, all of the cats swiveled their necks from side to side to watch her progress.

The squirrel would watch the little branches fall, then peer down into the yard as they settled on the lawn. There's about 35 of them out there, and I've left them there for her, just in case she wants to try bringing those branches back up into her nest. During her construction, she got smarter... instead of collecting little branches from neighboring trees, she just found tiny branches right near the new nest. Less traveling for her, less of a chance that the branches would end up on the lawn.

The nest looks huge. Condo size. Maybe she's expecting a lot of babies, or a lot of company. AngelBoy is particularly interesting in the squirrel's comings and goings. That cat loves to tease the squirrels in the yard, and he doesn't seem to mind being out-witted by them. He's forever trying to catch one, but I doubt he could be as quick as the squirrels.

I don't think AngelBoy would hurt a squirrel if he were lucky enough to catch one. He has caught countless lizards and frogs, and just sits there with them in his mouth by the screen door till I notice them. Then he drops them on the door-mat for me. Of course, I have to ooh and aah over the gift he's given me. (Oohing an aahing outside, cringing inside.) Hopefully, I won't have to ooh and aah over a squirrel.

Foggy morning today, and so drippy that we could hear the moisture falling from the trees. We got the Christmas lights down, and the reindeer are back in the garage. Sure is more fun putting up the decorations than it is taking them all down.

I raked up some of the leaves from the front yard this morning. One of our neighbors asked if he could have them all. He uses them for mulch in his backyard flowerbeds. Not in the front, since it looks too messy, he said, but they're fine for the backyard. Which got me to thinking... I may just try it with the next batch of leaves that I rake up. Unless, of course, the lawn guys come back and make all the leaves disappear. They always take a few weeks off around the holidays, so I don't know which week they'll be back here. Lawn services here... always a little mystery.