on lions, lambs and forgetful squirrels

March comes in like a lion.... or maybe more like the hunting lioness, creeping up on her prey, silently and then, at the last moment, pouncing!  Which is a dramatic way of saying that I'm unprepared for the March family birthdays. The gifts are in various stages of production. They will make their way to the three lovely ladies celebrating birthdays this month "by the end of the month", she says sheepishly (get it? out like a lamb?... ) Anyway, here's a teaser to keep you looking in your mail boxes...

Also in March, I've been clearing out debris from the garden. The yard, front and back, suffered terribly through the construction process.  There are concrete spills, much trampled roots, and a chaotic tossing of pots and planters containing who-knows-what. I had coffee with a friend last week who mentioned casually that the perennials I'd transferred to her garden last spring were coming up and looking good -- Wow, I had completely forgotten about them!  And this week I uncovered a mound of grape hyacinths in an unexpected spot.  It took me a minute to notice the pantyhose sticking out of the ground beside the mound -- my reminder of the location of bulbs I'd moved last year.

 It reminded me instantly about the findings of a scientific study of squirrel behaviour which Artist Daughter told me about some time ago. Apparently, squirrels furiously bury nuts and seeds all fall in a variety of locations because, come the critical time when they are ready to unearth their saved treasure, they have absolutely no idea where they buried them in the first place! They randomly search in likely spots hoping to find either their own stash or one left by another absent-minded mate. At least I'm not the only one.