"You bet!" I replied. And so he allowed as how he knew a couple of places where the yellows had expanded well beyond their property boundaries onto the public right-of-way -- and that he had been wanting one, as well.
We were on our way to his house, where wife had baked a Real Rhubarb Pie (not one of those contaminated by strawberries in an effort to lure younger generations to this old-time favorite.)
I had hoped to get a picture of a smallish pine limb they had displayed at one time -- a prime example of the acorn woodpecker's handiwork. It was absolutely studded with acorns; I've never seen anything like it, before or since.
Too bad -- the prize disappeared a long time ago. However, I did get a good look at a couple of big ponderosas, which had housed many generations of woodpeckers. The dang trees looked like teen-agers with terminal zits. From the ground all the way up the trunk. Note the white centers of some of the holes; those are acorns from many years back that have never been eaten, while the bark has grown far too many thicknesses for recovery.
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Another favorite place for stashing acorns: under a shingle at the very edge of a roof; the choosy woodpeckers seem to favor bigger and better houses.
The picture below was taken while I waited for my rhubarb pie. As readers should figure out by now, I have a fancy for roses that are either wild or just one step from wild. But never had I seen such a tiny rose!
That's a table knife for size comparison. Each blossom (six of 'em in a cluster) measured about 1/2 " across.
Info, anyone?
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