The Leaves Are Down! Let the Fun Begin!

Hi there everybody. This is The Daily Bone and I’m your cheerful doggie reporter Chester L. W. Spaniel along with my jocular colleague Joseph (Joey dog) Spaniel.

Autumn in Western NY is proceeding and the trees have lost most of their leaves. My ghostwriter says the trees sound completely different without their leaves. Instead of a soft rustling sound, like applause or a stream rushing over pebbles, they now make a deep, whirring hum as the wind blows through the empty branches. It makes her think sadly of the bleak and dismal days to come in later in November and December. 

My humans have been raking up the fallen leaves and piling them on the compost heap. Maybe they think they can save up all that Fall color and keep it there to cheer them up when they need it. They say they’re trying to cover up the muddy spots so we doggies won’t track so much dirt into the house. I don't think that will work. There's mud everywhere in winter! 

Joey dog would like to remind them that no matter how deeply they hide those cauliflower scraps in there, he will still find them! 

Speaking of hiding and finding things, my next subject is about squirrels! Today we put out some peanuts for the blue jays so we could enjoy their antics and bright colors. They usually pick up all the nuts pretty quickly. 

But I stood at my look-out post and this is what I saw: 

Ooooo, peanuts! Num num num num num! 

ZOOM!

That squirrel thought he got away clean. But look … the leaves are off the tree, so now I can see that crummy squirrel way up there! 

Joey dog and I can now bark them all the way out of the yard! They have to do gymnastics to get down from the silver maple to the arbor vitae hedge, and then leap from bush to bush—all while we’re barking—clamber down through the hawthorn tree (those thorns are huge and sharp!) and somehow make it to the blue spruce. Bark bark bark! What a great circus act! Sometimes the squirrel doesn't make it out of the silver maple because of our barking and gets stuck up there. So while the beautiful leaves are gone from the tree, a new show begins, and it’s a comedy! 

Garden Buddha is laughing in the leaves!

Are you still up there, squirrel? Nighty night!