Nice Antlers, Neighbors

WAFFLES:  Do you see what I see, Boss?

KATIE:  Considering I'm looking at YOU, I'm going to say that's a No. 

WAFFLES:  No, Boss! Out the window do you see what I see?

KATIE:  Why? What do you see?

WAFFLES:  It's our neighbors. One of them's got HORNS. Big ones.

DEER:  That's right, Waffles. They're huge. And by the way, they're antlers, not horns. 

WAFFLES:  *GASP!*  He's looking at me! He's looking at me! Do you see, Boss? 

KATIE:  Nevermind those antlers, look at that unibrow!

WAFFLES:  Yeah, he looks like that Frito lady. 

DEER:  That's Freda Kahlo, Waffles. The artist. Not Frito.

WAFFLES:  So does that mean you don't have any Fritos? How about Cheetos? 

DEER:  Wow, Katie. I don't know how you put up with this one. 

KATIE:  You have NO idea.

About Today's Photos
Last week it was squirrels, this week it's the deer family! It's unusual for the deer to come so close to the house. But just a few days ago, Glogirly planted some asters out by one of our hummingbird feeders. She had to cut down lots of wild grass and bushes that were close to the house as part of our fire mitigation project. It was leaving things looking a little bare in some spots, so a couple of potted plants seemed to be the answer to make it look more inviting.

Little did she know, the deer took that as a serious dinner invitation.

When she saw Mrs. Deer chomping the little purple flowers, she popped her head out the kitchen door and let her know that these were not on the menu. 

Mr. Deer was not far behind and didn't seem to care about the pretty blooms or even Glogirly's orange buckets filled with flower trimmings. He just casually meandered by towards the back of the house where the wild raspberries grow. 

Glogirly never gets very close to the deer, at least on purpose. They're typically very shy so she likes to be still and quiet so she can watch them from a distance. 

Squirrelly Acrobatics

WAFFLES:  Boss! The neighbors are here for dinner.

KATIE:  Those aren't the neighbors, Waffles. Those are squirrels. 

WAFFLES:  Did you invite them over or something? Because they're eating our tree.

KATIE:  They're not eating the tree, Waffles. They're gathering pinecones for winter. 

WAFFLES:  Like for decorating?

SQUIRREL:  Decorating??? You're kidding, right?

KATIE:  I'm afraid not, Mr. Squirrel. Apparently, you've never met Waffles.

SQUIRREL:  Well a squirrel's gotta eat. It's not like we've got pizza delivery up here, you know. 

SQUIRREL:  GERONIMO!!!

Our Friendly Neighborhood Pine Squirrels
When Gloman was home recently, our squirrels put on quite the show for us. We were all mesmerized by the dining room window. He grabbed Glogirly's camera and caught ALL the action.


This tiny, little squirrel was jumping from branch to branch like an acrobat on our tallest tree. He was grabbing the pinecones with his hands and mouth and tossing them down to the ground. He was moving SO fast, it looked like it was raining pinecones.

Did you know a single pine squirrel can clip HUNDREDS of cones per hour? The harvesting starts in the late summer and continues through fall. This was the first time we saw it first hand. And right outside our window.



Once he's dropped his bounty, he'll wait until the coast is clear to come back and gather all the clipped cones, one by one. He buries them in middens, which are loose piles of cone scales, cores of eaten cones and fully intact cones. These middens will get him through the winter. Whenever he's hungry, he'll just dig up a cone and nibble away on the scales and protein-rich seeds.

Special thanks to Gloman for his mad squirrel-photography skills!

Katie & Waffles on Gratitude, Loss, and 9/11

This post appeared on our blog on September 11, 2016. We reread it yesterday, hoping to find the right words to share with you the day after this year's anniversary. But we realized the right words were already here. We hope you don't mind us republishing Katie and Waffles' conversation about the day our hearts stood still.

WAFFLES:  What are you thinking about, Boss?

KATIE:  I'm just thinking about how lucky we are, Waffles.

WAFFLES:  Really? Did we win a prize or something? 

KATIE: You could say that. 

WAFFLES: Did it come in a nice box? You know, that I can fit in?

KATIE: No Waffles, what we have doesn't come in a box. 

WAFFLES:  No box??

KATIE:  Waffles, the things that really matter don't come in boxes. Things like friends, family, freedom. Most of all, love.

WAFFLES:  I love YOU, Boss. And Glogirly and Gloman and chicken. Oh, and wand toys! Definitely wand toys.

KATIE:  Waffles, long before you were born, even before I was born, our country suffered a terrible tragedy. Lots of people, animals too, lost their loved ones. Nearly 3.000 people died. And all because of things like intolerance and hatred.

WAFFLES:  Intoler-what? I don't know what those words mean, Boss. 

KATIE:  That's ok, Waffles. I hope you never do. 

In honor of those who lost their lives, and those who live with that loss.

We will never forget.