The squirrels are frustrated. For the most part the new “squirrel-proof” bird feeder works. For the first few days the squirrels would come, step onto the feeder and their food disappeared before their very eyes. The amazed and confused looks on their faces said “hey, where did it go?” The feeder works by the bar being triggered by weight which then covers the seed. They would look in the window at me, flicking their tails furiously and chewing me out royally in squirrel Latin. At least that’s what it looked like they were doing.

Hey, guys, I had to do this! You were spilling the seed everywhere and monopolizing the feeder so that the birds could not get to it. Don’t feel too badly for the little furry critters—they get fed a mixture of seed and nuts in the front yard.

It didn’t take too long for one squirrel to figure it out. He now realizes he can’t put his weight on the feeder, or if he does it can only be one tiny paw. Here is his solution to the problem.

To see him hanging on the pole upside-down like a bat, eating his handful of seed, was hilarious. Of course, it was only a matter of seconds before he started sliding down the pole and had to scramble to catch his balance. Smart little devil!

While cleaning up the yard yesterday, this leaf stuck between the boards of the deck caught my eye.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been a big fan of bran muffins. Visions of dry, mealy bites of food come to mind, don’t they? That was why we were pleasantly surprised when we tried out this recipe from America’s Test Kitchens (or Cook’s Illustrated). We happened to catch this cooking segment on Food Network a few weeks back and they made them look so good.

They are absolutely delicious: moist, chewy, full of tasty raisins (we like the golden ones best), and made with good-for-you ingredients. We’ve made them twice now and they last us all week for breakfast. One is enough to fill us up for the entire morning. They have staying power!

Why not give them a try? I’m sure you’ll agree they are the best bran muffins you’ve ever eaten.

On Saturday the sun did indeed come to visit us for a short while. Yesterday was gray and gloomy, as is the drizzly start to today. I headed out with the camera to see what I could find in my yard. Here is what I came up with.

On closer inspection the tree buds look like exotic flowers. Dainty and delicate, each one looks a bit different.

The daffodils are making progress and I can even see flower buds coming now. They seem to be basking in the sunshine, don’t they?

The white flowering variety of the bushes I don’t know the name of. The flowers are papery, almost like tiny Chinese lanterns.

The skunk cabbage down in the boggy part of our woods is now coming up. The bears love this plant, and hopefully we will get a few bears this year.

The forsythia is going to pop this coming week I think. Right now all I could find was this brave little flower in the back yard. A bit further south the forsythia is already out, but up here in the “mountains” we are not quite there yet.

UPDATE 4/9: I found out the bushes are called pieris japonica, or Lily of the Valley bush. I guess it does kind of look like Lily of the Valley ...

Sorry for my outburst of personal misery the other day. Sometimes it all just gets to me. I know my small problems are nothing compared with some of the awful things other people go through. I hate to be a whinger. Thank you all for your support via emails and comments (and even a visit!), it means a great deal to me.

On top of Sailor, Alex broke out in a horrendous “hot spot” on his face and needed treatment. It’s amazing how quickly they can crop up and become an infected and inflamed mess. Poor Alex is now sporting the newest dog fashion of the one-sided-facial-shave with the “must have” accessory—the plastic e-collar. Oh woe is he! Three times per day he has to have his antibiotics and his wound cleaned and spread with panalog. He is not the best of patients to be tended by one with not much patience. We are managing. My legs will have bruises for weeks and the furniture is also suffering the brunt of his inadequacies of maneuvering with a plastic cone on his head.

Sailor has started on the last chemo protocol that we can try. This one is a five week cycle. He gets two different drugs injected at the vet, then home with prednisone and another drug (Matulane). He goes back in 7 days for another injection and stays on the at-home meds for another week. After that he gets three weeks off. We won’t know if this one is working until after the second injection. We are hoping he can handle this protocol as there is a 30% chance that he could become sick from it (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea). It’s even more expensive than the previous treatment. The Matulane alone was $236.00 for 14 capsules! ouch.

It’s been gloomy and rainy all week, but it looks like the sun may just come out today. The grass outside my window is actually looking green and the forsythia hedge has a glow of yellow about it.