Easter with Charlie Brown

I received a special invitation from Charlie Brown and the Peanuts crew to join them for Easter. They sent me airline tickets and I flew out to their Hollywood set where they film all of their holiday specials. Apparently, they have been following my blog and wanted me to be a guest star on a new Easter special they are working on. It was warm, sunny and snow free in Hollywood. The grass was even growing. (I am having my doubts we will ever see grass again at the Woodpile because the snow drifts are so deep.)

Who is your favorite Peanuts personality? Well, I have always wanted to meet Snoopy. He is such a cool critter and a World War I flying ace.

I can’t give away the plot of the special but I can share some production photos from the set with you.

Meeting Snoopy 

Are you awake?

Waiting off stage for my cue

 

Posing for a photo opt

How about this pose?

Hey, I didn’t ask for a stunt double!

Hugs and kisses

 

Being an actor is hard work. Nap time.

Headline: “Spring is officially here”

If you are like me, you spent the week listening to the news reporters make a big to-do about the “official” start of Spring on the Spring Equinox (March 20). I think all these reporters are broadcasting from some beach in Bermuda. I stepped out of the burrow on the “first day” of Spring and I could barely see over the snow banks! It looked like the Arctic tundra outside. 

St. Patrick’s Day 2018

In the last two weeks, the Woodpile has seen two major Nor’easter storms. We have weathered deluges of rain, hurricane force winds, heavy wet snow, downed limbs, and power outages with ease. We are a hearty bunch. Not much bothers us.

St. Patrick’s Day has arrived, we went to Blackbird Tavern and to get some beer to celebrate and the sign on the door said “Out of Beer.” WHAT!!!! How can you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day without beer? I pounded on the door and demanded an explanation. The bartender told us, the deep snow and toppled trees have prevented the delivery trucks from reaching the Woodpile.

This was a major crisis. The mayor of the Woodpile declared a “state of emergency.” A special session of the Critter Council was convened. While listening to the councilors discuss airlift operations, I was reminiscing about my great-great grandfather who sailed from Ireland to America with only a handful of seeds in his pocket, his Irish pipe in his mouth, and old green leprechaun hat on his head. … wait … that’s it.

I ran back to the burrow and dug out the old steamer trunk that belonged to my great-great grandfather, and there was his hat and pipe.

We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day the old fashion way with a tip of the hat and smoking the old pipe.

 

Bushy

Mr. Nuthatch

Chippy

“Adorable Chippy”

“Tip of the hat”

Migratory Travel Agents

Bird migration is a really complicated business. Like humans who do a lot of traveling, the birds and ducks rely on travel agents, internet travel websites like MigrationAdvisor.com, and long term weather forecasts. They use these services to book five star stopovers and get reservations at the best natural food restaurants. However, you need to check out the reviews and not be taken in by the glossy photos in the brochures.

The weather forecasters (a bunch of groundhogs) seeing the recent warming trend recommend this time as optimum for migration. And then we got hit by two Nor’easter storms and the cold weather is back. A lot of birds and ducks got caught off guard.

The local Duck Motel (a negative 5 star establishment) overbooked the pond this year. On top of that the pond refroze leaving only a small open area. Management stuck the Ringnecks, Hooded Mergansers, and Bufflehead ducks in the same small pool as the Atlantic Mute Swans. Not a good combination. If you have ever met a swan, you know they are the holy terrors of any pond. I have never seen a more uncomfortable social gathering in my life.

Aren’t we all cozy?

 To the pass the time, the swans play a fun game. How many ducks can you corral at once? They split up into two teams. One team only gets four ducks, the other team get a couple of dozen.

This swan is about to give these mallards an unexpected wake-up call

“Finally, we have the pond to ourselves”

 

Ducks feasting at the Woodpiles' Five Star All Natural Restaurant.

This restaurant has its own snow plow. No getting cold feet while dining.

Bushy's Family

I know, it is hard to imagine Bushy as being a “family guy.” Part of it is my fault. I have posed photos of him diving head first into mugs of beer at the Blackbird tavern and as co-conspirator in some of my “adventures.”

This is Bushy’s youngest one. Here is junior practicing his tree climbing skills.

 Then there are the middle school age twins. They spend 95% of their waking hours eating. Thank goodness, they like to eat other people’s food, otherwise Bushy wouldn’t have any money for a mug of beer.

 This is Bushy’s teenage daughter Georgina or “Red” to her friends. Like most teenagers she likes to dye her fur unnatural colors and sleep late. I thought I would embarrass her with this photo of her snoozing.

Bushy's oldest is now a freshman in college. He was recently arrested for chaining himself to a tree to protest climate change. He is very proud of this jail house photo.

This is Bushy’s wife Jane. Believe it or not, they met in a dilapidated old dairy barn. It was love at first sight.