The weather outside’s been a bit frightful, as is often the case on a holiday weekend. But, rather than whine about the weather, as I am often wont to do, I just skipped Saturday’s saturated walk, even though I am sorely lagging behind in steps for 2019 thanks to the weather. I still aim to get on board with walking in the rain, especially now that I’ve got all my various soggy weather gear in place, but I must embrace that idea slowly – it appeals to me more now that the weather is a little warmer.
Saying the weather is a little warmer is an understatement. Yesterday it was downright sultry – in the 80s. Today was not as warm, but it was very humid. I had just returned from my walk, got in the house and it began to rain. It’s drizzling now and a storm is on the horizon. We have stormy weather every day through Thursday. But, though the rain is a pain, it is not severe and devastating like other parts of the U.S.
It is finally ice-cream eatin’ weather and the truck has been making its rounds in the neighborhood … there must be lots of kids on nearby streets because the song is already an earworm. I was thinking of these “Nutty Buddy” treats in conjunction with hearing that ice-cream truck’s song.
Do you remember them and did you like them back in the day, or are they still a favorite?
In my recent posts, we all oohed and aahed over all the sweet babies … goslings, Robin hatchlings and even the Great Blue Heron. I am way overdue in showcasing some of Council Point Park’s peanut-eating pals I encounter on the perimeter path daily. A bag of peanuts gives a lot of pleasure to a cast of characters that you know as Parker, Stubby, Midnight as well as the Northern Cardinals and Red-Winged Blackbirds, who choose to swipe a peanut or two from under the squirrels’ noses. Feeding these furry and feathered critters gives me a lot of pleasure too.
So, please enjoy this parade of my Nutty Buddies, whose images I’ve been collecting the past few weeks during my Park treks.
Parker.
No one is more appreciative of peanuts than Parker. Take a look at the smile on his face.
Stubby.
I’ve been following the antics of Stubby since last year when I saw he was missing half his tail, hence the moniker of “Stubby”. I can’t tell the Fox Squirrels apart … Parker usually will run to see me, and the rest of them all look alike, except for Stubby. His tail is not so raggedy looking now with the white fur tip.
Midnight.
Midnight is awfully timid and I’m still working on gaining his confidence. You’ll see how he is always mindful of my presence, a little bit of fear in his eyes. I daren’t make a move as he’ll bolt.
Northern Cardinal.
This beautiful male Cardinal practices “swoop and swipe” … from his perch he watches for an opportunity then swoops down. I laughed at these pictures when I downloaded them and was previewing them. There’s plenty of peanuts more his size, i.e. a pipsqueak next to the squirrels. That peanut is almost as big as he is, reminding me of the expression “go big or go home!”
Red-Winged Blackbird.
The male Red-Winged Blackbird watches the peanuts, the squirrels and the Cardinal and decides when to make his move. Sometimes he just lands on the perimeter path in front of me – hint, hint … I’m here and ready for peanuts. The female Red-Winged Blackbird doesn’t resort to these tactics … I assume she waits for her better half to bring home the bacon, er … peanuts.
[Nutty Buddy ice cream courtesy of Pinterest]
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Hi Linda
Beautiful pictures and descriptions. I adored the pictures of Midnight- I think he is beautiful. Parker has lost his winter chubbiness but he looks adorable and so does Stubby- do you think his tail will fill out with time?
The birds – their plumage is so beautiful- true spring(?) colours?
Susie
LikeLiked by 1 person
Midnight is so beautiful Susie. He has a touch of mange which you can see a little in the picture where he is facing me head on. I think his fur is discolored as it grew back that way as he is not missing fur now. He is a little skittish and I think it is because he is so much smaller than the Fox Squirrels. Parker and all the other squirrels have finally lost that extra weight and layer of fur and fat Mother Nature provided them for Winter … they are still hiding nuts like it is Fall!. This morning I saw several of them go running away to bury a peanut. It didn’t help much this past Winter as the ground was so frozen they could not dig into the earth to retrieve them. Stubby’s tail has grown out considerably since I first saw him and the walkers would say “did you see the squirrel with the half tail?” I don’t understand why it is growing in white on the tip though … could it be like humans who lose their hair through illness or chemotherapy, and their hair grows back a different texture or color? I think the male cardinal is one of the prettiest birds and he will keep that bright red color year around actually. The female is a drab, olive-greenish-brosn color, but still has the crest on the head which makes this bird look so stunning. Today I saw an Oriole – I talked to fellow walker last Friday and she told me she had seen some and heard one and we listened. I’d never seen one. There is an abundance of Orioles this year. People put out a half-orange on a feeder and they come to their feeder to eat it. They are orange themselves with black markings … very pretty! And they have a pretty birdsong as well … here, have a listen Susie. I hope to see one again. He flew past me so I didn’t get time to get a picture. https://youtu.be/G7WDLRh7OKg
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your reply is as good as a post itself, Linda. I have seen pictures of the Golden Oriole in my bird book in childhood. I thought they were yellow breasted though. Thanks for sharing the video. Glad the weather is clearing up.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, they are pretty and love oranges … maybe there are different types. I follow a photographer in the UK. He goes to a nature reserve every day and likes to take pictures of birds, mostly water fowl. The robins in the UK are very different looking than our robin red-breast.
You would not recognize them as robins. Finally, a nice day for us, though starting out foggy … no rain until tonight
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are up early, Linda?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes I was up earlier and here at the computer earlier as I had a 5K walk and it is was about 12 miles away and I have to go past two sets of train tracks so didn’t want to get stopped by a train.
LikeLike
Have you seen or experienced Impy recently?
What about Grady and co?
LikeLiked by 1 person
No Susie – I have not and you know he must be living in the neighborhood now because I’ve not seen him in the Park. As for the Fox Squirrels at the Park, I only know Parker and Stubby, but I would know him too as he had some dark markings around his face. I just saw Grady this morning when I was leaving the house – he was across the street. Felt badly as I clicked my tongue at him and he didn’t turn around. I hate that I stopped feeding them so abruptly, but I was afraid that bigger Fox Squirrel would keep chasing him into the street and he would be killed. At least it was not Winter any longer. I would have kept feeding him and the birds and the two black squirrels … but that bully had to intervene and ruin it for everyone.
LikeLike
Couldn’t you feed Grady across the street when you do pass his tree?
Doesn’t Grady come to your door step any more?
LikeLike
Hi Susie – I always have peanuts on me and will feed him if I see him but I thought he would recognize me and didn’t. I had to stop feeding him and the black squirrels and birds because a bully Fox Squirrel, was sitting there hogging all the peanuts and when Grady and the two black squirrels would try to grab one and run with it, the bigger squirrel would chase them out into the street. It happened several times that I saw, so I don’t know how many other times it happened when I wasn’t looking … I didn’t want Grady or the black squirrels to get run over by a car, so I stopped it immediately. I have not seen the black squirrels in the neighborhood but I recognize Grady as we don’t have Gray Squirrels in our neighborhood, but I believe he has a nest in a tree across the street… I would certainly cater to Grady. He was the original squirrel that I gave peanuts to every day when he was waiting for me when I returned from walking every morning. I don’t like bullies, whether they are human or animals … I was bullied myself when we first moved here by teachers and classmates and didn’t tell my parents until it got so bad I went to the principal and had him call my parents to the school. So, I know what it feels like to be bullied and it’s not nice. I would feel badly enough if Grady was run over by a car because he chose to cross the street at a bad time, let alone because another squirrel was piggish and wanted it all and chased him off the front porch. In this life, someone always ruins it for others. In this case, one big squirrel (same size as Parker) ruined it for the three squirrels and cardinals and blue jays as well as my experience.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Miss Linda…………………………………………..I just love the picture of Mr. Parker smiling…………………it makes me smile back
LikeLiked by 1 person
He sure is a happy little guy Ann Marie. Glad to give you qive you a little smile. 🙂
LikeLike
That photo of the cardinal with the big peanut in his mouth is priceless! Is that with your newer camera? It must have a great zoom lens. Midnight looks scared. I do remember Nutty Buddies, and still eat the occasional one!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I never noticed that big peanut in his mouth when I took the picture! No, this is my compact camera. I was only using the bigger camera at the two parks to get pictures of the baby robins (they have now fledged and are gone) and the goslings and trying to use it more. So this was just lucky that the cardinal landed on the ground in front of me while I was passing out peanuts. How did he pick that peanut up? I haven’t had a Nutty Buddy in a while … I used to like them a lot.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cannot stop Smiling after seeing stubby’s tail! The white is fun and the whole “frazzled hair” look reminds me to smile “cos ain’t none of us perfect, baby”
Lol
And so cool that you name them and at first I was wondering
how the heck someone could remember squirrels in the park –
but they are unique and your names fit so well.
The birds brought me joy too – later on I need to
share a poem with you about seeing a red cardinal on a white – snowy day.
In the meantime – keep walking – hope the 5K is great
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad Stubby’s tail gave you a laugh. He lost half his tail last Summer so I can keep him straight and Parker was named because sometimes I drive to the Park and one day I was walking through the parking lot to get in the car at the end of my walk and there he was sitting next to the car like a faithful dog. He often greets me at the beginning of the trail or will follow me around the Park. So I know those two … the rest of the Fox Squirrels all look alike. 🙂 Midnight is the only Black Squirrel at that Park and I think he gets fed in the neighborhood as he is not there all the time. This Park is right in the middle of a residential area – hard to believe that, but it is across the street from a neighborhood and across the Creek it is another city. Midnight doesn’t come around very often and when he does, he is very skittish. I hope so too – am looking forward to it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
PS
I used to LOVE those ice cream cones – the crunch at the top with
Ch image and nuts – the vanilla ice cream and then waffle-like
Cone….. mmmm
But do not eat them anymore because I don’t eat sugar and very little
Dairy
My husband makes ice cream for us – we have an automatic maker (not much $ and works awesome) and he uses trAder Joe’s coconut milk – stevia – and then other all natural goodies – it is so good to have ice cream without chemicals and without the glycemic crash and without terrorizing the pancreas (per Mark Sisson) and without sugar, which suppresses the immune system –
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Ch image” is supposed to be “chocolate”
LikeLiked by 1 person
I guessed right!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think that was the first time I had waffle cones before they were so popular. Your natural homemade ice cream sounds delicious. I am surprised by how much sugar and salt is in our foods that we eat. Like bread with all the sodium – the older I get, the more I pay attention to labels and just have treats sparingly. I actually gave up eating sweets for 8 years and just started eating a few treats again lat year.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good for you for having eight years of no sweets – and now balance with it – I was in denial for a long time about what refined sugar and processed dairy does to the
Human body – anyhow – enjoyed the way you wove the classic ice cream snack into this post
LikeLiked by 1 person
Now I have a hankering for them, maybe I ought to go out to the ice cream truck and get that craving out of my system. I went on Pinterest looking for that exact image to complement my story and title and Pinterest didn’t disappoint. I did not eat any sweets and my friend Ann Marie dropped homemade treats off at the house and I realized what I had been missing all those years … now, just in moderation. I don’t bake … any sweets are from the store.
LikeLike
I am
Surprised you did not feel
Sick – or “off”
When I had a piece of cake after being off sugar for a while – I was not used to processing so much and felt so ill –
It might be different for people – but my body has become “fat adapted” and I am Not a “sugar burner” anymore – if that makes sense
– and not sure why you got off sugar – but I “had” to do it to rebuild my immune system and body terrain -;)
LikeLiked by 1 person
The return to sugar began when my friend Ann Marie stopped by with a huge birthday cupcake in April 2018. She is a kind soul who is always baking for her church, neighbors, kids in her apartment building … she often bakes these over-sized cupcakes. She brought me one, then stopped by this past Christmas and then Easter with more baked goods. She follows my blog and is someone I used to walk with at the Park, umtil she moved to another city. But last Fall I decided I should eat some sweets in moderation. I bought a lot of cookies and wrote this post about it: https://lindaschaubblog.net/2018/12/19/we-all-need-a-little-wiggle-room-sometimes/
I thought I knew all about the damages of sugar in other foods though, however, one day I had a painful swollen toe and researched it online – I had gout. I thought I was eating healthy and when I researched what foods cause gout, even the healthful things I was eating served me wrong. It was then I found out that natural foods have a lot of sugar in them (I knew about fruit juices and don’t have them, nor did I before), but other sugary items had lots of sugar (and salt). I was amazed and retooled my diet again. It was quite an awakening. The biggest issue was that I was not drinking enough water. I now drink a lot of water and it never returned and I did not want to go on any meds. Here is my post about the gout and finding out turkey versus chicken and tuna versus salmon consumption: https://lindaschaubblog.net/2017/03/05/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-2/
LikeLike
good for you for finding alternative remedies – and I can see why you are sometimes sharing about getting your steps in -because we also help so much by “moving”
thanks for the links – I will check them out in a bit
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I am still working on alternative remedies – gave up red meat as well a few years ago as heart disease runs in my family. Take your time reading the posts – they are both long, but wanted you to know the backstory.
LikeLike
Red-winged blackbirds are my favorite! I love how you named all the squirrels.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They have a beautiful call and they are one of the first birds I hear come Spring in the marshy parts of the Park. The squirrels who have a little more personality and distinguishing features have gotten names (also whom I can tell apart). Midnight is hot/cold … he’s not sure he can trust me … he takes the peanuts and scrams where he knows he is safe, but always watching me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love this gang!! Look at that smile on Parker’s face!!! What a peach. He needs his own TV show hehe.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I knew it was not just me imagining that squirrel’s smile … he is genuinely happy.
Yes, Parker is quite a “ham” and he would do well in the spotlight.
LikeLiked by 1 person
hehe totally!
LikeLike
Holy cow midnight looks terrifying
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, he does Michael. Kind of like the squirrel version of “The Boogey Man!
LikeLike
The black squirrel is my favorite! The cardinal is gorgeous! Such vibrant colors!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like him too – I am working to overcome his shyness. He looks terror stricken in some photos I have of him. I thought the cardinal was gorgeous too and I love how he just overlooks the smaller peanuts and grabs the biggest one, almost as big as that cute little head.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Those critters are lucky to have a caring human like you visit them and keep them in rain, sunshine, snow and sleet! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like spoiling them Sabine … I must admit that I give them extra when I know I won’t be there the next day if bad weather is expected or I have something going and can’t be there first thing (they don’t come out later, after 10:30-11:00). I feel badly if they forage and come up empty-handed. .
LikeLike
A walk in rain gear is much more appealing at 60 degrees than at 40, isn’t it? I am glad to read that you have your rain gear in order. It seems like the soggy weather is going to be our new normal.
We used to buy Nutty Buddy ice cream cones for a dime back in the day at the snack bar at our community pool. I loved them! Ice cream is sort of off my diet for now, but maybe I will allow myself an indulgence every once in a while.
Parker DOES look like he is smiling as he eats his peanut treats from his “Nutty Buddy” – you! And Stubby looks very handsome with the new white tuft on his tail. It is a good reminder of a narrow escape for him. Love those bird photos with the peanuts! I always think that is amazing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I think it is more doable now Laurie. I have two pair of vinyl boots now … I had initially had just the one pair, but had been admiring the first pair. They went on sale, 2/3rds off and no shipping fee … I told myself that was meant to be, so I got them. That’s if two days in a row are bad and the first pair don’t get a chance to dry properly. I have three days to test them out – we’re having rain starting this evening through Thursday evening.
I have not had Nutty Buddies in years and now have a serious craving for them.
I can remember all the Good Humor novelties were around a dime, $0.15 tops.
Parker has a ton of personality and he seems eager to show off how cute he can be. That cardinal amazed me carrying the peanut almost as big as its head!
LikeLike
no such thing as bad weather,only bad clothing and If you do not begin to go out during rainy periods you will fall far behind in your walking schedule.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree with you Wayne. I now have the vinyl boots … got a second pair at a great sale price and free shipping so decided they were molded vinyl and maybe better for really swampy days and the original pair (matte vinyl) and waterproof shoes … I should be all set and we have three days of rain to try them out. Except if it is stormy, I’ll hold back then. I still hope to make this goal and hope our weather becomes more normal soon. This is not the norm for our us at all. I don’t like the “new norm”.
LikeLike
better grow gills or move
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are right Wayne. I am hearing rumbling now as this storm moves in, (right on schedule – they predicted 9:00 since early a.m.), so I’m going to shut down and pull the plug. It is a slow-moving storm and supposed to last most of the overnight.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I bet Parker has been telling Midnight some scary tales about you so he’ll end up with more peanuts! I remember Nutty Buddies, but I don’t think I was a fan. Orange and vanilla creamsicles were my treat of choice.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You make a valid point there Janis. It is all about scamming me for peanuts and taking them from the other squirrels every chance you get! I remember those orange and vanilla creamsicles – so creamy and Push-ups too, same orange sherbet. Do they even make sherbet anymore?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lucky birds!
Also, I never did like the nutty buddies.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pam – Those birds never miss a thing! The cardinal constantly cracks me up with his antics. As to Nutty Buddies, I know, you are more of a purist and like your ice cream unfettered by nuts and syrup and such. 🙂 We have this great frozen custard place that’s been around 70 plus years and people will line up for blocks for a Bob-Jo’s treat especially when they first open for the season or on sweltering nights. Most people just have their frozen custard in a sugar or plain cone, or in a cup, but I always laugh when I see kids as they want every topping imaginable on their Bob-Jo custard. We didn’t have all those toppings growing up – if I had ice cream out, it was a soft-serve Dairy Queen. How did I exist without all the frills back then?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know, we were so deprived, weren’t we, Linda? But I am still a purist and will stick with a simple “twist”. 🤣
LikeLiked by 1 person
We were deprived in a good way Pam and a simple “twist” works for me too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
😋 🍦
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for sharing such a lovely post and updating us all on all of the beautiful friends that you have made ❤❤❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome Zena – glad you enjoyed this post. I get a kick out of watching them and feeding them, so I sometimes wonder who is getting the greater benefit out of this deal, them or me? I think it is a win-win situation for both of us.
LikeLike
I like the looks of Midnight! 🙂 Too many people neglect the significance of Midnight!
LikeLiked by 1 person
He’s wary of me – just look at those eyes, but he is still inquisitive and wants peanuts, so he ventures forth. 🙂
LikeLike
Those are the cutest pictures!!!! Yes I have eaten many Nutty Buddies in my childhood! Now I want one…lol
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you liked them Diane – I just love the cardinal swooping down and carrying that big peanut. Power of suggestion – the Nutty Buddies look delicious in the picture!
LikeLiked by 1 person