Mr. Napoleon…….he came through the winter with flying colors this year. Granted we didn’t have a very bad winter but still for a guy who is nearing eight years old, he’s in very good shape. In that span of time he’s got everyone up and down Shady Lane spoiling him rotten. He has his own little schedule….he flies up in the big oak in our front yard every evening, before dark, and situates himself just so. He has to maneuver his long tail constantly as he hops from one branch to a higher one until he finds his favored one.

In the mornings he does a lot of pruning and then sets about foraging in the yard until he spies someone to visit with. There is one other retired family on our street so he goes there to spend time. He has several favorite resting places around the yard here…….he hates wind so most of his napping is done under a cedar tree and is well hid from view. He likes to snuggle in under the small bushes and maple tree in the berm and does so well, I’m sometimes surprised when I come upon him.

They say animals and the like don’t think. Well….I disagree. When he wants a snack he hops up on the porch and clucks like an old hen. If that doesn’t bring me he “honks” and keeps looking in the window. Of course I have his favorite food, which is peanut butter mixed with dry oatmeal. He never tires of eating it. I mix it and make little marbles out of it. He likes it to roll gently towards him so he can pluck it up and eat it, hands down. He’s actually pretty proud of the way he’s taught me to cater to his eating preferences.

He especially likes it when I’m working in the yard. He and the cats follow along when I’m outside and are content to watch whatever I’m doing. I will soon be into weed pulling. I can’t do that until the flowers are up enough for me to see……..otherwise I would pull them up with the weeds. I’m bothered with wild violets in all my flower beds. They are pretty when blooming but after that they become a pest. However, they are the last ones I pick because they are less a problem than the other weeds.

I usually pull weeds after blooming because they have some saving grace in one way or another. I pick some for the leaves and some for the blooms….it just depends on how they can be used. This year I will have to buy a tool-stool so I can sit when pulling weeds and have the tools right with me. Anyone my age knows that hopping up and down is more of a memory now. But gardening is good for the soul and good for the body……they don’t wear out from working, they wear out when too much sitting on the couch is done. There’s an old saying I believe in…. “use it or lose it”…….it’s true of anything.

Well, I guess I’m getting off track here so I’ll put this year’s picture in of Napoleon and post it for you to see. I hope wherever you are, there are some flowers blooming in your yard……it just isn’t Spring without flowers by the door-step.

Essentially Esther