Acorn Woodpecker

Here in our grove of oak trees, there are a lot of acorn woodpeckers. They look a bit crazed, but they are actually pretty canny. The perches on the bird feeder is a bit small for them so they use their tails for balance, tucking  them forward underneath the feeder.

It is impressive to look at that beak which pries up roof shingles, makes holes in our house and stashes acorns in every naturally occurring nook and cranny it can find..... There are hundreds of acorns in our downspouts and I'm sure I can't think how they will ever get them out again. I read somewhere that their tongue wraps backwards over their brain to protect it from concussion. I have a headache just thinking about it.

I had a conversation with son Matthew about his frustration over Trump's latest tantrums vis à vis  trade with China. Matt's company,  Easton, makes baseball equipment, much of which is manufactured or sourced in Asia. He says it is impossible to establish pricing or even run a business when the tariffs, and the products to which they are applied, are changing every few days. 

And Matt isn't the only one. Everybody at the G7 meetings in Biarritz right now is experiencing 'high tensions and low expectations' over any kind of result.  Macron, anticipating that Trump will do everything he can to sabotage any kind of cooperation or even civility, has already announced that there will be 'no final document'. 

 Matt  is taking a few days off himself to escort Claire to Vassar College in New York. I almost fainted when I looked up the spelling of Poughkeepsie (where it is located) and stumbled across the amount of the tuition. I assume they will be paying a similar amount for Julia, who is on her way back to Connecticut College. That's a lot of baseball bats....

It will be an empty nest for them when they get back home to Los Angeles. Except for the four dogs....
 
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