Greetings and salutations everyone; yes, once again it is I, Chess the purebred border collie, filling in for the guy I live with, and here to bring you the latest news from our garden. You may remember me from such posts as “A Day At The Opera” and “The Sand Man”, among so many, many others.
Here I am in a characteristically sophisticated pose.
It’s been rather damp around here lately, with rain, and, of course, thunder, but I was able to go on my walks, and I guess one advantage of the all the rain (a whole six tenths of an inch in two days) was that the guy I live with has declared that the rain brought down “the last of the pods”. The honey locust hasn’t had that many this year, compared to some years, but there are still a lot. 
Somehow I doubt that this is the last of them. The pods didn’t come down all in one place, in case you were wondering. He raked them into this pile.
The “squishies” have enjoyed the rain, too. The guy I live with took some pictures today, and here are a couple of the squishies. It’s just that they looked so contented, and he felt like taking their pictures.
Titanopsis calcarea
Aloinopsis spathulata
The squishies get nibbled on by rodents sometimes. You can see some of the nibbling if you look closely.
Here are the newly-emerging leaves of Cyclamen hederifolium. Attractive, huh? (The label is for a snowdrop.)
Well, that would be all I had for today, but we were visited by some wildlife. The downy woodpecker likes to creep up the birch branches. It wasn’t standing still when the picture was taken, which is why the focus is a little off. Branches on the tree (really a shrub) occasionally die and the woodpeckers like to drill for bugs in the dead branches. 
As you may know, I and the guy I live with lead a pretty laid-back life, with just the occasional incident marring a succession of otherwise uneventful days, but just today an event occurred which was so shocking, and so disgraceful, that I had to get up and leave the room, which was the kitchen.
This happened after I came home from my morning walk, which was excellent, by the way. Both of us were just sitting here, each minding his own business, when all of a sudden….
Earl
I couldn’t believe my eyes. Especially when the rodent looked into my fort.
After documenting the unwarranted intrusion, the guy I live with cleared his throat very loudly, and the invader turned and fled.
“Such”, said the guy I live with, “are the times we live in.”
Surely something must be done. Aside from keeping the door closed, I mean.
I guess that’s all for today. The guy I live with suggested I spend more time patrolling the patio, and less time asleep. We’ll see.
Until next time, then.
the miserable gardener 
It would appear the guy you live with has the same door procedures as we do around here…open unless it’s dark (racoons) raining(not good for hardwood floors) or under 50-we live in California and are cold wimps. We have a few of those poofy-tail rodents around here too, but so far they have not ventured inside. How dare they approach your fort. I too would be indignant.
I agree; how dare they? But they dare. We both like fresh air, which is unfortunate, owing to the massive amount of chemical fragrances spewed into the air by neighbors, but every now and then the air is fresh and clean-smelling. My buddy Slipper liked to stand halfway in and halfway out; rump toasty and nose chilly. I like the same arrangement in bed; under the covers, but with my nose being cooled by the fan blowing air through the open window.
I’m growing fond of ol’ Earl, Chess, and I wonder if he was trying to make your further acquaintance. Surely he must see you occupying your fort. Perhaps he was trying to discover its lure. Of course, you have to live with him and best know all his squirrelly transgressions. Love your garden at this time of year as it demands a close look, my favorite kind of garden to walk through. The Titanopsis calcarea, for example, might be easily overlooked by me as I study the larger picture. Probably I would notice those beautiful cyclamen leaves, though. No one could miss the woodpecker. Relieved to discover you recovered yourself after Earl’s trespass and could curl once again into cozy sleep. Still, best to keep an eye out from now on, now that you know of what that squirrel is capable.
Thanks; the squishies, like the titanopsis, are right by the front door, so if you were standing at the front door pushing the button to ring the door bell over and over again, not knowing that my mommy disconnected it about 1988, you might glance over and see some funny-looking rocks which would have flowers if it were in December or January. What I think is that it rained on Earl’s fancy new dray, and he was looking for a drier place to sleep. Or to get at the crackers on top of the refrigerator. (Milton’s; really good.) The cyclamen leaves get better and better, for the next month or so. Stuff to look at in winter.
Build Earl an insulated winter home.
I haf a cat who liked to sit in the open kitchen door. I froze but he was happy.
The guy I live with, who’s been busy gardening, which is why no new posts, says Earl can build his own house, preferably next door. It’s been sunny and dry and cool and breezy here, the most delightful of all weather types, except for snow, in my opinion.