Does this little gal look well fed? She is one of a dozen or so who visit us daily. Here she's sitting on the lower deck's rail as she enjoys the warmth of the sun while eating a nice shelled nut. Through trial and error I have found the shelled nuts to be the best choice for feeding the squirrels and Jays..

Peanuts in the shell are less expensive, but they are messy and the squirrels bury them all over the place. The buried peanuts GROW! Dried corn was a nice idea but our squirrels didn't eat it and it GROWS, too! These shelled nuts are not for human consumption since they are broken pieces, some are wormy, and they may have fallen onto the floor at the processing plant. It is a mix of walnut, cashews, almond, and hazelnuts.

I suspect this little gal will have a few babies. She looks rather plump.

At least a half-dozen squirrels visit our feeder throughout the day. Oddly enough, only one-at-a-time will eat. The others sit as far away as they can, even beyond the safety rails.

Seems I've gone from the least expensive squirrel food (peanuts in the shell) to the most expensive food (a variety of shelled nuts). The trade-off is less mess with the expensive nuts and easier dining for the squirrels.

Their comical antics keep us entertained all day long! (old people are easily amused).

Not very impressive, but this is the first winter for our fish pond. It was quite a surprise, though it shouldn't have been, to see the ice as it nearly covered the entire surface. Paul broke the ice and removed some of it as it was impeding the ability of the pump/skimmer to circulate the water.

None of the fish can be seen; they hide in a large semi-circular 8" tube in the bottom of the pond, and behind the large rocks of the wall.

See the bubbles of ice which formed on the large rocks. There is a coating of crystal clear ice on the rocks, and on top of that are these globs of ice which I have never seen before, never in my life. Everyday, there's a new marvel!

Early evening finds Paul installing and testing the newest motion detector spray gun. Mounted at the west end of the pond, any nocturnal animal coming near the pond will be startled, hopefully, they'll leave. The last device, made in China, only detected movement within 4 feet of the device. Of course, that didn't deter anything.

Paul, posed as a sneaky raccoon, managed to hide behind some large stones to stay semi-dry.

The bridge is being winterized with three coats of a dark walnut colored varnish. In two more days, when the colored varnish is completely dry the bridge will receive two more coats of a clear Marine varnish. The plywood blocade keeps everything off from the bridge.