Impertinent, Spoiled Squirrel Solicits Food at the Kitchen Window

Sassy and I have an arrangement. She likes fresh Moist and Meaty dogfood, and I like to feed the birds. Therefore, she gets a fresh little bag of her regular food - after I have tossed the dried remnants on the garbage barrel lids. She waits for some treats to be added on top of the fresh food. Ranger Bob has spoiled her terribly - I keep telling him.

I was shopping on an icy day recently, so I bought a cheap bag of birdfeed, mostly corn kernels and random bits of peanuts and sunflower seeds. I scatter that on the lawn and on the barrel lids.

I looked out the window one morning to check the barrels - and saw a juvenile squirrel go through its comedy or drama - starving, needs food immediately, thousands will disappear, maybe forever. He peered into the kitchen to see if compassion was still a virtue in our household.

It was a warm, sunny day with an abundance of food available. I laughed and took a bunch out for him and his tribe.

 The bird swing became Interstate 1 for the squirrels. They could balance on the metal and eat with a little practice. 

I May Be Welsh - Calon Lan

In Columbus, our daffodils were brought to Technica engineering, years ago. Mrs. Ichabod's boss said, "That is our Welsh flower! Do you have more?" She did.

The Story Behind the Lyrics

I don't ask for a luxurious life,
the world's gold or its fine pearls,
I ask for a happy heart,
an honest heart, a pure heart.

A pure heart full of goodness

Is fairer than the pretty lily,

None but a pure heart can sing,

Sing in the day and sing in the night.

If I wished for worldly wealth,
It would swiftly go to seed;
The riches of a virtuous, pure heart
Will bear eternal profit.

A pure heart full of goodness

Is fairer than the pretty lily,

None but a pure heart can sing,

Sing in the day and sing in the night.

Evening and morning, my wish
Rising to heaven on the wing of song
For God, for the sake of my Savior,
To give me a pure heart.

A pure heart full of goodness

Is fairer than the pretty lily,

None but a pure heart can sing,

Sing in the day and sing in the night.

Comment from a YouTube page - "No offence to the ladies, but there is something special about the sound produced by a Male Voice Choir - especially a Welsh one! I recall, many, many years ago when as a parish minister in Scotland, I was asked to conduct the funeral service for a man who had died, and who had no known relatives. I agreed and, at the crematorium, found four men waiting to pay their last respects to the deceased. As a chorister myself (Glasgow Phoenix Choir, under the late Peter Mooney) I can sing reasonably well and, as I had been informed that two hymns had been chosen, thought to myself - "Sing out - these could be solo items." I could not have been more wrong! Indeed, I am not sure that I sung much at all. The deceased, it transpired, had been a member of a Welsh Male Voice Choir, and these four men had come up as representatives. Just four of them filled that crematorium chapel with an amazing and, to me unforgettable, sound. A fond memory."

Ranger Bob's mother, recently transitioned to eternal life, loved buttercups, as he calls them. They must be all yellow.

Everyone should plant daffodils. We dug them into the lawn at the parsonage in Columbus. They are the most reliable and robust of all the winter bulbs.

Early spring only implies the future of the garden, but daffodils are sure to pop up first. They love the cold winter and as much as the thawing sunshine of early spring.

Christina was quite touched by how moved her boss was at the sight of daffodils on every desk. He is Welsh and we always had a love for Welsh hymns.

When I found Calon Lan sung by Only Boys Aloud, I played it for Christina, just the other day.

I said, "I must be Welsh. That hymn strikes me every single time, and they are known for their great male choirs in Wales. That is a tradition they are reviving."

She said, "Oh? You are Welsh?"

Knowing the implications, I said, "There is another tradition besides Welsh men singing. The males who cannot sing are exiled."

Christina, "That explains the contrary evidence I was about to mention."