I photographed these squirrels collecting seeds underneath our bird feeder today. The snow was falling at the time and on-and-off all day, but fairly gently.Long term readers will be pleased to know that the squirrel defences are holding firm and only birds have been seen actually on the feeders. The holes in the ground are from an amazing network of burrows that have been made around the feeder. We're nearly sure they have been made by chipmunks, but cannot be certain. So, mammals on the ground, birds on high. Intelligent design in action.
Oh no don't start that argument again. I meant the squirrel defences - and my intelligence!
The few flakes of snow on the backs of these squirrels may seem paltry by tomorrow morning. The first winter storm of the season is on its way overnight. North of here they may have a foot of snow, we are expecting a difficult-to-predict mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain apparently.
Interestingly 'sleet' means something completely different on the two sides of the Atlantic, in the UK it means every child's worst disappointment - nearly snow - cold and wet and no fun at all. Here it means tiny ice pellets like miniature hail stones (but formed differently apparently). Where would my writing be without Wikipedia?
Today's title is a book/film pun. I haven't seen the film, but I enjoyed the novel and some of its images have stayed with me for several years since reading it.
That'd be David Guterson's 'Snow Falling on Cedars'. Am I right in remembering that it is about the internment of Japanese Americans in the US during WWII?
ReplyDeleteGuterson has also written 'East of the Mountains'. Cancer patient contemplates suicide. A gloomy subject, but ultimately redemptive and worth getting beyond the rather stodgy first 100 pages.
You remember correctly - that is the backdrop for what is basically a standard coming-of-age love-triangle racial-tension whodunnit/courtroom-drama.
ReplyDeleteAre there no new ideas? :-)
Thanks for the recommendation BTW.