To our daylight, the times change.

Another fine day, with another cold night. And the end of a weekend that costs us an hour of sleep.

J had an enormous cold, probably the worst one she's ever had, brought to her by the friendly infant elfin granddaughter who chose to share her infection by coughing in her grandmother's face. Or perhaps her grandmother aimed her at her face accidentally by playing a grandmother game, known as "I'll Get You to Smile Even If I Have to Let You Cough in My Face."

On the animal front, Gary the Groundhog put in two or three appearances. We had not seen him since last fall. It appears that he may have wintered under the tool shed at the back of our neighbor's garage.

Sitting out on the deck this early evening, basking in a warmth that was tempered by the occasional gust of lingering chill wind from Canada, we saw Ardie again. This time, s/he was flying just about 60 feet above the rooftops, probably wanting a closer look at the critters on the deck. A house finch landed on our handrail and cocked a worried eye at us. He took off again and landed a little farther away. Finally deciding, most likely, that we posed no serious threat, he flew down to the sunflower seed feeder to join the other boys and girls who are always there if there is anything left.

Little Red, the tiny red squirrel who valiantly dragged a snowman's scarf halfway across the yard but abandoned the effort when he saw how improbably difficult it would be to haul it up the tree, appeared late in the afternoon. After skittering about amongst connecting branches, he sat on a limb about twenty feet away to partake of something nutlike. We could hear his tiny teeth clicking against each other as he devoured whatever it was.

I finally got to meet and chat with a neighbor lady for the first time in two years. As we mused about this and that, I learned about some of the original gossip and the changes that had been made during the many years she had lived on the street. I had not realized, for example, that the demolition crews were already at work on one of our city's two hospitals.

And so, it was another fine day. Almost enough to take the mind off the global warring crises.