Back again

Well, two weeks have passed since I've been back in the States. I am now renting my brother's home since he lives in California and it just sets empty otherwise.

I won't be looking for a job until Stefan goes back to Austria in two weeks. It's gonna be really hard to let him go again for three months, but there's nothing more that we can do about it, and we both have to get jobs and start earning income again. Until the dreaded day comes, I will continue to show him around the area. We still haven't gone to downtown Chicago, nor to Milwaukee. It will happen, but the weather seems to be disagreeable on the days that work for us. Tomorrow it is going to snow again, and then it will become colder and windy, with a high of about 21 F and not accounting for the wind chill. Not a good day to visit the shores of Lake Michigan.

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I have visited Bennie twice since I've been back. I'd like to see him every day, but that is an impossibility at this point. Anyhow, the first time I went to see him, Bennie poked his head out immediately from his nest box (which is now inside the house) when he heard me say, "BBen, where are you, little squirrel?" I put my hand down to his face and he responded by grabbing my hand with his paws, and then climbing up my right arm. Next, he flopped himself across my left arm just like he would lay down on a tree limb, with his hind legs dangling over each side of my arm and his furry little paws hugging it. Just like always. Squirrel hugs. He snuggled in closer to my belly and then fell asleep. Later, I gave him some bags of pecans, hazelnuts, and Engligh walnuts. He growled at my feet intermittently, in passing, while finding places to store his new treasures. I cleaned his ears and scratched his chest. It was an awesome day.

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I have also begun to keep my annual bird feeder count, as of yesterday. My brother's place is in the woods, so the bird watching opportunities are neverending. There are suet and sunflower seeds for consumption, and so far I have seen:

6 Black-capped Chickadees
2 Tufted Titmice
1 Blue Jay
2 Downy Woodpeckers
4 Dark-eyed Juncos
1 Red-bellied Woodpecker
4 White-breasted Nuthatches

I hope to see some pileated or red-headed woodpeckers before too long. No squirrels yet. Keeping my fingers crossed for squirrels, too.