It's an Absolute Zoo!

A couple days after I posted the picture of Mama Woodchuck and her baby, I looked out my sewing room window and saw this! Yes,that is a small woodchuck up the tree! The birdhouse is over five feet from the ground (you cannot see the base of the tree in the picture), so you can judge how far up s/he is!

I guess it looked like so much fun that another one had to try it--they both went up to about the same height, then turned around and scampered back down. Has anyone else seen woodchucks in trees? (I promise I am not on drugs and I don't drink--I also figured no one would believe me without pictures!)

The next day--just in case you thought this was a fluke--another woodchuck climbed into the spruce tree, also behind my house. While you can't see the bottom of the tree, s/he is sitting about 2 feet off the ground. After venturing further from the trunk, s/he decided that that might not be such a good idea and leapt to the ground. (I have a vivid imagination, but even I couldn't have made this stuff up!) I'd love to hear if any one else has had similar behavior in their woodchucks....

Today we had a severe thunderstorm, with high winds, heavy rain, hail...the works. After the storm passed, I again looked out my sewing room window and saw a turtle hightailing it across the backyard. Off I go, camera in hand.... I think it's a box turtle (it's definitely not a snapping turtle). I managed to get a dozen good pics before s/he returned to the weeds. There is no standing water within hundreds of feet of my yard, so I'm not sure if it was a female laying her eggs and departing, or what the story was. Don't you wish they could talk? Yes, okay, I did ask--but got just the hairy eyeball stare in answer.

In answer to one of the comments: Yes, I will announce my new batting choice--when I make one. I'm still testing!

I finished my first pair of socks! I'll post a picture another day, since this really is the Z00 day! I am quite taken with them. I have not cast on a new pair--trying to finish the two things I still have on needles.

My phone line (and only my phone line) was hit by lightning on Sunday afternoon and it was not fixed until this morning. I put the time to good use by adding borders, marking for quilting and quilting (hand) a new Thimbles sample. It's ready for binding. I also started hand quilting my next 5-pointed Star Hand Piecing sample--it's done in fabrics I don't care for and had almost decided to (gasp!) machine quilt it. It's about 1/3 done and looks good. The quilting is making a big difference.

Will stop running on and on for this time. Did you thread you needle today? Or better yet, thread it and sew with it? Come on...you know you want to... ;-)