Carolyn Holm

Mom!
Stanley Squirrel was here today!!!!!!!
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
Oh good. I hadn’t seen him since he fell. I’m glad he turned out to be ok. 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
This time he didn’t try to leap up to the bird feeder. Not after that twenty foot fall.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
That was an extraordinary thing he was trying to do. Even for a squirrel. I notice Junior Squirrel hasn’t tried to do that himself.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
No, Junior just looks longingly at the feeder. He should go down below where the seeds drop. Our Towhee pair hangs out there for the dropped seeds. I don’t understand why they don’t eat from the feeder like the other birds.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
Our feeder is really made for smaller birds. But that’s ok, Towhee’s are ground feeding birds. Same with our Mourning Doves. 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
The Blue Jays hang on to the side of the feeder because they are too big to get inside.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
I love watching their gymnastics.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
We’re feeding a lot of animals. We’re like a wildlife diner.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
I’m glad we are! I like having so many visitors to the garden! 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
There was a skunk last night.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
I smelled that too. Skunks are our neighbors too, but I’m glad they are active in the middle of the night, when we’re safely in bed. 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
The three Neighborhood Bucks were walking down the middle of the street this morning.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
They did look regal, didn’t they, with their lovely antlers! And to think it wasn’t that long ago that they were youngsters with their two moms, living by the creek. I appreciate that you didn’t bark at them. 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
I’ve stopped barking at deer. 
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
Yes indeed, ever since that time the mama deer didn’t like your barking, and chased us for two blocks! She was alarming.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
She was terrifying. 
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
The crow is another regular visitor. But he hasn’t been by for a few days. I think Winston has been disappointed. He sits by the patio window every day at about five, watching out for that guy to show up for treats. He’s very impressed by how big the crow is, and how noisy.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
The crow calls out to you when he shows up. And Louie also calls out to us when he’s on the patio. 
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
Louie comes by for the catnip plant. And to rattle our cage. That cat knows he can get you guys all worked up.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
Puffin yells at him when he looks in our window!!!
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
And you bark, and this last time Winston yelled too. And Louie is doing his part yelling back at all of you. I think he is also interested in the Meadow Mice who have their burrow under the house.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
One of these days I’ll catch another one!!!! 
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
NO! I want you to leave those mice alone. They don’t bother us. 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
They’re so interesting!!!!!!! They have been moving gravel out from under our house foundation.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
I think they’re building an ADU under our house.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
You laugh every time you say that. I don’t get it.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
I know, sorry, it’s human humor. We have a neighbor up the street who is building an apartment in their basement. Technically these are called Accessory Dwelling Units, ADU’s. Those folks hauled out a huge pile of rock and gravel to make more room for it. So when I saw that little pile of gravel outside the Meadow Mice doorway, I made the comment about the ADU, and we’ve been laughing about it ever since.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
But maybe our house will tip over because they took some gravel out from under us.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
I think we’re ok, sweetie. 
Love, Carolyn

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A note to our readers…

Poppy, Winston, and Puffin are looking forward to sharing their weekly correspondence with you! Each week one of them is featured here, all based upon actual conversations. And yes, you can get the week’s post conveniently in your email every Friday by subscribing in the subscriber box at the top of this page. (If you are reading this in an email, go to blog.carolynholm.com to subscribe.) If you have already subscribed, multiple paws are raised to salute you!