It was another beautiful day, and, we broke a longstanding weather record from 1884, after we hit 66 degrees this afternoon.

I wonder what we did to deserve all this love from Mother Nature?

I got hung up doing some domestic chores and left a little later than usual, but not before I stopped to gather some goodies for the feathered and furry critters at the Park.

There was some old bread I had defrosted, so I broke it up for the ducks and geese, and, when I reached into the cupboard to get a Ziploc bag of peanuts for the squirrels, those peanuts smelled so fresh and good, that I stopped and treated myself to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Just for kicks, I made a smaller sandwich and cut it into “fingers” to share with the squirrels.

I made my way down to Council Point Park, and there were many walkers there already. There were also a few teens chasing the elusive Pokémon characters, and, a couple of boys bumped into each other as their heads were bent, studying their phone screens.

By the time I reached the perimeter path, I had unzipped my jacket and stuffed my gloves in my pocket. I even took out the camera just in case I could get a close-up of a squirrel noshing on a PB&J sandwich, with peanut butter smeared all over his furry face.

First, a pair of squirrels scrambled down from a tree, and, I lured them over to me with some peanuts, which were quickly grabbed and positioned between their front paws. Chomp, chomp – gone in a minute, with the shells cast aside on the path.  Next, I laid out a couple of sections of  the sandwich – that got their attention, and each sniffed a piece, scooped it up with a paw, shoved it into their mouth, then took off running.  Bad manners!  No photo op either!  But, I looked over in the bushes, and, yes, they were enjoying their treat, so I left the rest of the fingers there so they could come and get them at their leisure.

So, yes – the entire world loves PB&J sandwiches, not just you and me – the squirrels love ‘em too.

At the cement precipice, I took out my bag of bread, and, once again I had my camera at the ready. I had a few takers for those yeasty tidbits, long discolored by freezer burn, and those mallards delicately nibbled that bread, then quickly moved on.

I put the camera away again, figuring I was done dispensing goodies for today, though I still had some peanuts left for any other squirrels who happened along.

Soon thereafter, a big robin, the first I’ve seen this year, flew down beside me. He looked just like the one pictured above, wearing a perpetual scowl that  most robins seem to have.  He probably saw me feeding the rest of the crowd and thought I might have a worm or grub for him, since I doubt he found any in the frozen ground in mid-February, despite these balmy temps.

That appearance of Robin Redbreast made me think … do I have to get my robin contraption in place over the coach light at home already? I need to search in my blog to find my first whine about the robins settling in to raise their family last year – they were at least a month earlier than usual, probably due to the mild Winter of 2015-2016.  Though I am a bird lover, the robin’s messy nest over my front door light, is just not acceptable to me, and, I fear this warm weather will have them looking for a mate, nesting materials, then a place to build.  Each year they favor me with their presence, and believe me, I’ve never put out the welcome mat, nor a sign that reads “Mi Casa es Su Casa!”

I heard the vroom and low rumble of motorcycles while walking home and throughout the day. I half-expected that the next sound I would hear would be a lawn mower starting up.

Too bad the President’s Day holiday was not extended to all workers – tomorrow is supposed to be another stellar weather day.

[Image by Kaz from Pixabay]