Stayin' positive

This week has been one of goodbyes. CBC Radio 2 is changing all their programs next week. Good bye to Disc Drive and Jurgen Gothe which I've been listening to since it started in the 80's. I'm sure there was a program from him before that which was similar but maybe my mind is playing tricks on me. His cat stories always made me laugh and I was introduced to so many wonderful artists over the years.
Goodbye to Here's to You and it's previous incarnations as a request show. Shelley Solmes and, later, Catherine Belyea have provided a glimpse of folks in the rest of Canada and, occasionally, the US and Europe. I have learned so much more about classical music. I have even been able to make my own requests. What a beautiful gift to give - and to receive when others have thought of my special occasions.
Goodbye to Music & Co with Tom Allan. My drive to work was so much brighter. When I was working in the daycare, I could listen as the kids arrived. What a wonderful way to start the day - for them, too. And recently, I could crank the sound up and listen while I started my 'computer' day.

These programs have been part of every rug I've hooked. I will miss them and their hosts but I'm not abandoning CBC. I'll be there when the new schedule starts, hook in hand and I plan to keep learning and enjoying the music. Nothing stands still in life.

Imprinting

Here is one of our siblings (we think) from the Stellar's jay family that visits everyday. One, which we think is a female, is extremely assertive. She knows when we're in the kitchen and she flies right down. If Anne's a little slow, she'll peck at the glass in the door to get her attention. Both are very tame and have taken peanuts from her hand much to the delight of grandkids.
I think that the birds see her a a mama jay since they come so early in the morning and always see her in her blue housecoat. Reminds me of the story of Father Goose. I'm sure these jays would follow her anywhere, too, as long as the peanuts lasted.

While we love the visits and don't mind bankrupting ourselves to keep them in peanuts, we do mind the squirrels who glean from many of the birds' feeding forays. Their following of the jays is the most annoying because they dig everywhere trying to find what the jays bury. Every plant container on the deck has been ravaged this year by our resident black squirrel (1) or the gray squirrel (1). It's as though they've staked out this property as their hunting ground. The finches leave them a lot of sunflower seeds, too. But this scavenging is a helpful cleanup from the squirrels. Everybody's gotta live, I guess.

Summer fun

Well, this week wasn't supposed to be rainy. We were going to have a tent in the back yard and s'mores. We had this cool s'mores making set that we could set up outside...no campfires allowed in our back yard. It was supposed to be able to toast a marshmallow over the tea light. That didn't work so well. In the end, it was cold and raining so miserably that being outside was not an option. Marshmallows were dipped in chocolate fondue for a messy, tasty treat. Doesn't it look like fun? Maybe campfires are preferable, though.

Clothes horse

Look what happens when you let the horse out of the stable at night. Heads straight to the Barbie gowns. Actually, it looks pretty good.