Merry Christmas

 

Special tree delivery

Santa's gift to his furry elves

who collected acorns for his reindeer

and just in time for the  Woodpile's Christmas Festival.

What, you thought we were snug

in our burrows, down for a long winter's nap?

Chrstimas Wreath

My buddy Bushy the squirrel has been watching the creative crafts channel on cable. He was inspired to make a Christmas wreath to decorate the Woodpile. He set himself a goal to make it from all recycled materials. He gathered discarded branches from the place selling Christmas trees. On the way back to the Woodpile he found a box of Christmas decorations set out on the curb for free.

He started working on his wreath but something didn't seem right. It finally dawned on him, there was no snow! It didn't feel very Christmas like without snow. He borrowed a blender and started grinding up ice cubes. It took an hour and 50 pounds of ice but he had snow to assemble his wreath on. Talk about dedication.

 Attaching the Christmas bulb to the wreath was harder than looked.

He tried a different angle but that didn't work either.

Bushy's brother Tommy dropped by and asked if he needed help.

 

With the help of his brother, he finally got it secured.

Bushy is busy working another branch into the wreath.

Bushy works at tying the ribbon on securely.

 

A very nervous Bushy can't decide if his project is finished or not.

 

New Woodpile Library

After over twenty five years of having the Woodpile in the exact same spot, the Woodpile Council voted unanimously in October to relocate it ten feet due west. This caused a great deal of confusion for our human neighbors. All sorts of rumors circulated as to what was going on. Some thought my cousin Vinnie was building a rocket launch pad for NASA. One of the more colorful rumors was that the Woodpilers were setting up a moonshine still! I am afraid the truth of the matter is not quite as exciting.

About a week ago, all the rumors were put to bed when a flatbed truck rolled up at 7am sharp and started unloading all of the pieces to the new Woodpile Library. Within two hours, a brand new 10 x 10 foot library was fully assembled and ready for phase II – bringing in the bookcases and books.

We had outgrown our previous library space which  was only a mere three square feet. Our new library has a 100 square feet and we installed bookcases as much as five feet tall. We went from a capacity of about three dozen books to space for 1200 books. Word got out quickly. We received many book donations and had no trouble filling up the shelves. In less than we a week, we went from the smallest critter library in North America to the largest.

Every year we “refresh” the Woodpile with three cords of new wood.

 

 

Here is the Woodpile in its new location. Impressive isn’t it?

 

The new library shortly after completion. You may notice some odd dark lines running through the grass. Light yellow "L" shaped line is cracked corn for our feathered friends.

The Woodpile Corp of Engineers was busy digging a tunnel system to reach the library. This way critters wouldn’t have to get their paws cold and wet scurrying through the snow in winter.

 

 

Did I mention the new library is run on solar power? We decided to go green.

 

The solar panel powers the lighting system.

Our masonry crew was busy installing the steps.

Taking a well deserved break after moving this cement block singled pawed.

The building inspector gives the final okay for the library to open.

Before the library even opened, this young lady donated a collection of sci-fi titles. Time to brush up on my Star Wars reading.

It took an army of volunteers to move all the books in.

The new library was even equipped with a file cabinet for archival materials and unpublished reports.

I received the honor of checking out the first book from the library. My wife wanted me to get “The Handy Chipmunk’s Guide Burrow Repairs.” (It was still on order and hasn't arrived yet, phew!). My cousin Vinnie and his mentor Tom recommended some ‘light reading’, specifically Plato’s philosophical work called “The Republic.” My old school teacher Mrs. Spot recommended the classics like Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden.” What did I decided on? Well, I discovered some vintage comic books, my idea of "classic" literature and  “light reading."