A glorious morning to you. We slept in this morning because we sat up and watched some Food Network baking competitions until 0100 this morning. Itwasn’t that we really cared who won, I guess we just weren’t ready to go to bed yet. Of course, at 0800 we were ready to get up yet either so we lazed until about 0830 today. But, we’re retired old people, well one of us is retired,  and I reckon we can sleep in if we want to.

It has been an interesting morning at the Backyard Buffet. There are two squirrels on a thin branch in the Maple tree just across my west fence. I don’t know if they are fighting or doing a mating ritual. (I don’t mind watching their antics but I’m not going to read the squirrel sex manual.) With all of the batting around and jumping around, I don’t know how the branch doesn’t break or they don’t fall off. But the one squirrel has been taking on all other squirrels for battle to keep them way from the squirrel it has been sitting with. But then, all of the squirrels have been bonkers this morning chasing one another all through the trees and up and down my trees and over my roof and back again. .

Not to be outdone, the starlings have been here this morning en masse. I’ve had a flock of about 18 here this morning. I didn’t fill the feeders yesterday so most everything is empty. But I have a feeder that holds four suet cakes and they have been all over it. They fight and squabble and land on top of one another and peck at one another. They peck at the suet and they lose a lot of it on the ground. It doesn’t get wasted though because a bunch of them are on the ground scooping up what gets knocked off and lost. They are truly “flocking birds” because suddenly they will all take off and fly away. The slowly the scouts will come back and the next thing you know, they are all back again. You have most likely seen that same kind of action on wildlife shows where suddenly huge flock of ducks or flamingos will just suddenly all take off together and slowly return to wha they were doing. So now, —- the starlings are gone and the little woodpeckers are here at the suet feeders and looking like “What the heck happened to the food?” Don’t worry, there is still plenty out there for them. It is 35 degrees out there at the moment. When it hits 40, I’ll throw on my jacket and go feed all my babies.

We are five days away from Christmas. Are you excited? Do you plan to attend a Christmas Eve service. I hope you do. We’ll do a communion and candlelight service again this year, The bell choir will play Nd we’ll sing Silent Night in the candlelit sanctuary and it will be beautiful and heart-warming. Please take advantage  of the opportunity to go give thanks to God for the greatest gift of all time; the presence of His Son, Jesus. For what God has done for all of us, it is the very least we can do to take a couple of hours and humble ourselves before Him..

Have a blessed Friday.