Butternut Boy is back and other good things

After I'd prepped yesterday's Misfits butternut squash, I tossed out the seeds and rinds because they're a great squirrel favorite and their food sources are scarce just now.

Today Butternut Boy, who will fight any squirrel for his seeds, showed up and plunged in. He ate till he could barely make it onto the fence taking his last chunk of rind with him.

He'll be back. We have a very cold forecast with winds this weekend, so he'll need to load up. 

And though I didn't feel like walking today, so many things to do at home, the forecast probably means I won't get out for a day or two, so I dragged myself out. Not sunny, and that makes a difference. I needed to take out garbage and recycle, two armsful. And I added on a walk.

I had two nice experiences, one where the mailman just arriving near the boxes next to the dumpster, courteously waited down the block till I'd finished tossing bags and boxes and was on the way down the street, before he pulled in without rushing me.

The other was an encounter with a large, strong, playful yellow lab, dragging his owner about and looking as if he'd like to jump at me, as they do.  The lab, not the owner.  

I quickly got into the road -- they couldn't, hemmed in by cars-- and had an armslength chat with the owners, very nice people. I explained I couldn't manage if the dog pushed me. The dog was studying my face as if he understood it all, big fibber.

 I handled a few yellow labs when I had the pet care service, and can assert from my experience that they're the tearaways of the lab world. 

Black labs tend to be more docile and a bit needy, chocolate labs can be reasoned with but yellows, nah. They live to rampage and knock things down and jump shoulder high with such good nature.  Not a mean bone.

Oddly, all three colors can be found in a single litter. So maybe it's chromosomes.

And I'm doing a bit of Freecycle since I acquired a little rack thing at the dumpster, which now houses my shoes. I reorganized various items and freed up this interesting diy vintage basket I've had for many years.

 

I think I have a taker. If I lived near Steve I'd leave it near his house and I bet he'd find a home for it.

Happy day everyone. Do redheaded humans really have a hot temper or is that a gross slander? Or is it chromosomes?

 

Butternut Boy in a seed frenzy, new week new art

Yesterday. Butternut Boy and another squirrel friend, followed by a chipmunk, came over to stuff on canteloupe seeds. They could hardly jump on the fence to leave once they'd finished.  Total enjoyment of great food. They're wise 

And the human followed their lead, making this supper, eggs, sharp cheddar cheese and tomato, baked.

Served with toasted maslen bread and Vermont butter. I've rediscovered that this tastes best baked in a glass dish for some reason that escapes me. Dessert was more canteloupe and blueberries, sprinkle of ginger powder.

I did make that soup, collard greens and cooking water, stock, leeks, potatoes, lentil pasta spiced mixture, chicken bone. A powerhouse soup.

Then I decided to retire watercolor for now, in favor of drawing. That entailed putting away the painting doings and going in search of the drawing doings.

Which also resulted in finding blades I thought might work for my box cutter, which is having a harder time breaking down the Misfits boxes for recycle. It also resulted in my finding I in fact have three, count them, box cutters. One was labeled by Handsome Partner, pretty much antique. 

Then, on opening the newest looking one I found it had two spare blades already loaded in the handle. Different from the blades I'd found, which are now stored safely again.

My inner mechanic enjoyed taking apart and reassembling the cutters, so I'm now ready for any box, however large. After the picture I retracted the blades, in case you were wondering.

So that little tangent was on the way to assembling my drawing gear ready for use today. 

It was a joyful reunion with the ink stick and rubbing dish, conte crayons, pens, carpenter pencils, graphite sticks, charcoal pencils, kneaded erasers, all for future drawings.  

Some great art has been made using tools like this by far greater artists than this one, but the joy of it is available to anyone wanting to try it.

 

I had made a little painting first though

Eye doctor appointment today, and we'll see if I need a new rx and if he thinks I can wait longer on cataract surgery which is sometime in the future. We'll see.

Happy day everyone. New week, new hopes.