Squirrel Attack and Mudding

My Favorite Panamanian likes to do her rosary on Deckzilla each evening and usually brings along some fruit to assist in concentration. She is invariably social though and yesterday wandered off to converse with the uphill neighbor. I came out to say hi and found one of our resident squirrels was in the process of gnawing through the back of the wicker swing to get at the remnants of a forgotten banana. The first my wife was aware of this was when I came careening out onto Deckzilla discharging the bb gun at this criminal (I tagged him twice). She always elicits sympathy for the “poor animals” during my attacks but she declared open season on squirrels after seeing the damage done.

My Muddy Fashion Statement

Project Lake This Morning

Squirrel Damage

We finally had some serious rain last night after a prolonged dry spell. This was great except my backyard project site looked like a lake this morning since I had dug down to the clay layer which doesn’t drain well. I took the accompanying picture after it had drained a little bit but today was definitely a mudder day. I’m an old infantryman and there is very few things we hate worse than having to dig in mud. There is nothing to recommend it. It made the dirt I had to dig into a little softer. I didn’t have to use the pickaxe at all today. It just about doubled, however, the weight of the buckets of dirt/mud I had to carry up the hill. My Favorite Panamanian came out to take some pictures while I was cavorting in the mud. It looks like I’m going to have to do a laundry tonight as I’m down to wearing my Star Wars sweat pants. Luckily this project is in the back yard and not many neighbors were blessed with this fashion statement.

Playing in the Mud

I’ve finally got the bottom layer of the future patio down to approximate level. That happened faster than I thought and I’m going to start attacking the uphill portion tomorrow. I had a very cool moment during this morning’s exertions which lifted all the weariness from my spirits. I had just dumped a bucket into the second level terrace and was catching my breath (something that seems to happen with increasing frequency). This was adjacent to the bird feeder which is usually deserted if I am anywhere near it. Some sort of red headed bird came into the feeder, took out some seeds, and then flew over to land on my gloved hand. I guess I looked like a convenient post. It was so cool.

Day 9 Progress

Two more movies have fallen in my A-Z effort, both keepers, 50 First Dates and 300, now there’s a rapid change of direction.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                        

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course