In't he cute?

(ante script: If babytalk offends thee, do not click on this video.)


We're not supposed to keep pets, but what the landlord doesn't know...

I wonder - should I name him, or keep calling him Sweetheart?


In relation to my comments to Mick, here's a photo of Marmalade running away with a (nearly empty) jar of peanut butter.
[click image for a larger, better view]

Whodunit

My mumbuds are missing!

Last fall, I bought seven bright orange, red, and purple chrysanthemums - 99¢ apiece. And when the first frost hit, I took great care protecting their roots so they'd survive the winter, above ground.

And 4 of them did.

I put them in pretty new pots, once winter's freeze had burned off, and they've been doing great. I didn't prune them, so they're all about two and a half feet tall, and their leaves are larger, in shades of deep royal greens. It's taken all summer for them to make buds...and there are scores of buds on each plant.

About 3 nights ago, I noticed that some of the buds were starting to break open, and their colours were starting to show. And so I've been checking in the days since, waiting for the petals to unfold.

Well, this evening, when I checked, all the buds with opening petals...were gone! Someone has bit them all off. I suspect everyone, and no one. It's just as likely to be the ducks as it is the deer.

Charity

Everyday, squirrels jump onto my porch from a nearby tree. They come for peanuts and walnuts, and whole wheat bread. It's an amazing jump, and my porch railing isn't wood, but metal. I don't know how they manage to hang on.

There are two, in particular, I look forward to seeing. Both come to the door and scratch on it to let me know they're there, and ready to eat. The one little guy apparently escaped the clutches of a predator, just barely (it must've been last spring). For months he had to drag his right arm, and even now his right paw is almost a stump. His fingers healed into a clump.

The other fellow has a tooth that juts out from his mouth from the bottom up. It makes it difficult for him to eat some things. I'll probably be making a lot of little peanutbutter sandwiches this winter.