On Dec. 19, Marion Hoar, Riva, John Stevens and Barbara Pelletier were volunteers at the Upper Room in Sherman. The weather was fairly balmy and business was very brisk during the four hours we were there.
Many items were sold and also many Christmas decorations. Quite a few children came in with parents or grandparents and had a good time selecting a free toy from the toy box while the grownups chose clothes for them and for themselves.
I took a drive over to Patten recently, and while there dropped in to visit with friends, Gertie Webb and Margaret Duffy, who reside at Mountain Heights. I should have seen other friends there, too, but as the days grow dark early I decided I’d rather drive home in the daylight so didn’t linger too long.
I had a very nice phone call the other day from Claudette Delong, former resident of Island Falls, now living in Brooksville, Fla. She enjoys reading the Pioneer every week and reading about the area and her friends here.
I still have the cardinals arriving a couple of times each day, usually early in the morning just as it is getting light and there are no squirrels or other birds around, and then in the evening just as it is getting dark. I have to be quick then, as I would miss seeing them as it gets darker.
The two gray squirrels are still with me and are still having an occasional fight as to who gets into the feeders first. In the meantime, the juncos and chickadees still flit about darting in to grab a sunflower seed when they can.
Every now and then I spot a deer in my backyard but they don’t linger very long. I still put out old bread and cut-up apples for them and put them near the barn, and every morning they are all gone and there are many deer tracks everywhere.
When son, Tom, was here he marveled at the deer tracks so close to the house. I haven’t seen one lying down out back in the snow since I spotted two of them a week or so ago taking a rest in the snow. They stayed there about 30 minutes before getting up and wandering off into the woods.
