An Evening On the Porch and Memories of Dad

I went out to sit on the porch while it was raining last night. Who do you think I found just sitting on my cushioned bench. It was Chip...just relaxing and watching the gentle rain come down. He didn't move until I sat on the chair next to him. Then he scampered down behind the front evergreens and sat there peeking at me. I got up and came into the house to get him a treat. A little package of peanuts to munch on. He took the peanut and went back to his spot to wait out the rain and keep his little eye on me. He looked worried and didn't chew the peanut. I knew that he was looking for a place to either hide it or enjoy it. Under a Hosta in the woods would be my choice, but not his. I think because it is so far away and he likes to store things closer to the house.

One of his holes is behind these Hostas in the back. No, not this time....he wanted to keep his eye out for more...and if I were to go into the house there would be no more treats. He knows he's cute and knows that he can wrap me around his tiny foot with his antics.

Another place for him to hide is over by Mary's garden. He has a little hole at the edge of the house where he scampers, when I am tending this garden. I usually sit on my green chair and watch for him to come out and run around the statue.

Maybe he could hide it in the hanging basket by the front door. I've seen him in the basket hanging on the deck, but not this one. He really doesn't make a mess and has never destroyed a plant.

The hummingbirds were taking the attention away from Chip. They are voracious at this time of year. I fill the feeders about every other day. At night they fly back and forth...so many of them...from the feeders to the trees. They seem to be chasing each other away from the feeder...or are they playing with each other. One buzzed right by my face while I was out feeding Chip last night. They love my homemade trellis and like to use it for a resting place after feeding.

The garden by the porch would be a good spot it seems to me. There are lots of hidey holes in that garden. Maybe he is leery of the snake who lived there last summer. I haven't seen the snake this year...and I hope that I don't for Chip's sake.

I followed him around the corner of the house to my little herb garden. He hid the peanut right there where my new Japanese Anemone is coming into bloom. He has lots of little places in this little garden that is very quiet and undisturbed.

I love to watch these little creatures and make up stories about them. I can give them almost human reactions to different situations. I sort of put myself in their "shoes" and tell the story as I see it. I have loved stories from my early childhood, when my Dad would sit with me in the big chair and read to me. I remember like it was yesterday...I would ask him to make up a story...I loved his tales so much better than books. He would react to his own tale and his facial expressions made the stories real to me. He didn't just read it...he acted out the parts. Our favorite books were the Book of Knowledge, Uncle Wiggley stories, Doctor Doolittle books, Just So Stories, and Dad loved Edgar Allen Poe. Memories of his stories are still in my head...I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Balisha