Cheeky Squirrel

A few days ago, I noticed that one of our bird feeders became mired in the snow the fell of the roof. A little red squirrel thought it was easy pickings for him.

I'm a bit of a squirrel racist. Since he was red, which is pretty rare, I didn't chase him off. Gray squirrels are more plentiful and pesty, and wouldn't have gotten such a warm welcome, including a few peanuts in the shell that we've been tossing out. He's pretty smart too and made himself a tunnel for easy and safe access to his food supply. After three days of 40 degree temperatures, it wasn't quite so convenient, but he wasn't deterred. With more snow falling right now, he'll have several more days of enjoying the all-you-can-eat buffet.

Our Little Chickadee

On Sunday morning as the snow was piling up, Pipsqueak and I were in the kitchen when we heard a thunk against the deck door. I knew that sound... it was a bird hitting the window, but it didn't sound too loud, so I was hopeful. We went to the door, and I didn't see anything right away. Soon I noticed a couple of tiny, dark gray feathers stuck to the window, then slightly to the left on the ground in the snow, I saw a chickadee laying on its back. I thought it was dead until I saw one of its legs twitch. It looked so lifeless that I felt certain it would die soon, and I didn't want to give Pipsqueak any false hope, so I said, "I'm going to bring it in and put it in a box by the fire, so it won't have to die out in the cold, laying in the snow."

I put a towel in a box and donned my work gloves, and went out to get the bird. As soon as my hand went around it, it let out a hearty cheep. When I tried to put it in the box, it had grasped the glove with one of its feet and wouldn't let go. I didn't want to shake it loose, so I slipped the glove off and left it in the box with the bird.

It layed there on its side for a long time, breathing heavily. It moved its neck a bit, so that encouraged me. I grabbed a large piece of lace to put over the box, so we could still see the little guy. After several minutes, it got on its feet and shook itself a little. After a few more minutes, Monty, our dog, came up behind us without us noticing and stuck his head in the box. This startled the bird, who started flapping around. The lace went ascew and the bird started flying around the kitchen, finally perching on the ceiling fan. Since it hadn't fully recovered, I was able to stealthily come behind grab it with the glove on, and we let it go outside. It flew to a tree where it sat for 10 minutes or so, fluffing and grooming, before it flew off.

Pipsqueak was so happy and thanked me for a wonderful morning. I often wonder how she'll remember me when she's grown up. I hope she remembers me as animal savior and feeder of birds and deer, among other wonderful, happy things. She still talks about the time I stopped the car and got out to shoo a turtle across the road so it wouldn't get hit. But I don't do these things to impress her; I do them because I want to. It's a hard life out there for animals; they could use a little kindness and help.

I let Pipsqueak give it a couple of gentle pets since she was curious what a bird felt like. Then it was hands-off so the poor guy could rest in peace. Luckily it wasn't RIP as an epitaph.

Purple Day

I knew that purple would be easy. Pipsqueaks's favorite colors are purple and pink, so there would be plenty of examples in her room. Before I went there, I thought I'd look for some in the rest of the house. I'm enjoying these daily walking tours of my home.

I got these purple beaded placemats at Pier 1 right after Christmas. They were in a jumble in the clearance shelf, but I managed to find six of them.

I placed the winning bid on this amethyst piece at a silent auction last month. I love geodes and semi-precious stones. This piece was one of the deepest purple I had seen.
This print of Artist's Garden in Giverny by Monet hangs in our bedroom and was a Christmas gift from Sweetie a few years ago. I love impressionist paintings, especially Monet's, because they show the world the way I see it without my glasses.

Now we're on to Purple Central, Pipsqueak's room...

I'm greeted at the door by this purple, sparkly star.
A friend gave her this egg music box which plays "Spring" from Vivald's "Four Seasons.

When Pipsqueak heard today was purple, she started gathering up her things and arranging them in this display before she went to school.

It looks like purple threw up on her floor. I noticed she missed a few things, but that was plenty.

I hope you enjoyed this project as much as I did. When flowers are in bloom, I think I'll have an outside rainbow day or days. First, we'll have to get rid of this white stuff. Then we'll have to go through a period of brown days.... mud season.

Green Day

I'm glad the band isn't so popular anymore, or I might have a lot of disappointed Google searchers stumbling upon this post. Here is my collection of green.

I love these dark green velvet, beaded valances which hang in my living room. I'll probably leave them up until they rot from old age and fall to the floor in shreds. Then I will experience a period of grief, knowing that I will never again find something I love as much.

We have a pineapple and palm tree theme in our living room. I know it's odd for Vermont, but the colors of burgundy, dark green and gold makes it feel more plantation than tropical, so it works.
This piranha that I painted in pottery guards my steel wool scrubber.
My mom made this afghan that I keep in the sitting room ready to warm up chilly toes.

Pipsqueak sculpted and painted this dinosaur in art class at school. She was proud of the fact that she knew how to form the back from doing the edge of pie crusts with me.

I've kept this hibiscus alive for the past eight years. I get two or three flowers a year. The green wallpaper in the background is in my kitchen, but I plan to redo those walls soon. It a bit too 80s country for my taste.

Since I was a spaz and did blue first instead of in the order of the rainbow, tomorrow is purple day.

Yellow Day

Yellow was a lot more difficult than orange for me. Who'da thunk it? I did manage to find a few things.

I can't get through a day without my Mom's Plan-It calendar. If I lost it, I'd have no idea where I need to be. I love that it runs 18 months, so I can plan an entire school year.
Pipsqueak painted this for me at pottery. She's a ray of sunshine to me.

Here are a couple more bottles from my collection.
We found this sea fan awash on the each in St. John last winter. The wooden fish isn't the right species to go with a sea fan, but they look nice together anyway.
Pipsqueak has had this paper star nightlight in her room since she was a newborn. It has faded a little.

Tomorrow is green day. That should be easy-peasy. Now I need to go out and shovel some more of that white stuff.

Orange Day

It's nothing but white outside as we're getting around a foot of snow today, but inside, things are looking sunny. I had more orange than I thought I did. It was my favorite color when I was a kid. I was a bit of a non-conformist... no pink or purple for me. Pipsqueak's room was a treasure trove of orange.

This is Sunburst, she lives in Fairytopia and was once kidnapped by the evil Laverna. She is a sparkle fairy and can't get wet, so Laverna held her in a bubble underwater rendering her powerless. And I know way more about this fairy than any grown woman should.

This is a rainbow tooth fairy. I gave Pipsqueak one every time she lost a tooth. She has the whole rainbow now.

A garland of paper monarch butterflies hangs from her ceiling.

I had a few orange things of my own.

My turtle lamp...

And an orange bottle from my collection of colored bottles.
I love this abstract that Pipsqueak made in school so much that I framed it and hung it in the dining area.

Tomorrow is yellow day.

Red Day

I could fill a memory card with red things around my house. As a matter of fact, I did, but I narrowed it down to my favorites or most photogenic for your viewing pleasure.

This is our beta fish, named Kip (or as I like to call him, Kipper Snack). He has a big roomy bowl, and he gets very excited when someone stops by to look at him. He thinks food might be involved. This was his first photo session.

I got this candle holder from Kohl's right after Christmas. It was marked down form $40 to $6. I never would have paid $40 for it.

I used to have a cow tea kettle, but I got this one a few years ago after we got our new Wolf range...

so it would match the knobs on the front.

I was so sad when Bombay and Co. is out of business. I found this great feathered lamp there, and it look so good in the sitting room. They got a lot of business from me over the years.

We don't sit in this leather club chair very often since it faces away from the television, but it has great sentimental value. It belonged to my father-in-law. When we chose new furniture for the living room, it was selected with this chair in mind.Finally, are my daughter's ruby slippers. I just pulled them out of her closet because they're too small. She's had them in about four different sizes.

Tomorrow is orange day. That might be challenging. I can't believe I have much orange around here.