A Whole New Backyard

Hey, Stuffie friends!

Boy, do we miss all the extra trees in the backyard. They sure were fun to climb up, fly from, and hide in. On the plus side, the lake view is great. We’ve been seeing lots of fish jumping recently and can see the birds taking off and landing on the water. Maybe Amelia Airheart will be returning soon on one of her flights! We thought some of you might be interested in the live action version of all the cool tree removal machines (and humans). Here’s the highlight reel of all the exciting videos from the logging project.

Not only were we great supervisors for the tree team, but also we’re excellent explorers. Once the crew left, we had to go see the whole new backyard. We hope the landlords will leave these in place. They’re great for watching (Wol), snacking (Flicker), hiding (Loony) and climbing (me).

Next, we went down the steps to get a closer look at the water. We all climbed up on the red pine stump. This tree was a favorite fishing viewpoint for our Eagle friend. Hopefully he will find another acceptable tree nearby. We sure would miss seeing him around!

We then went over to the double oak trunk stump. As you can see, these trees were really big - 18 “ diameter each. We weren’t the first visitors, either. The bees were already landing on it to feed on the sap! Personally, we’d rather have pancakes with maple syrup than pine sap. On the other hand, sometimes you’ve gotta take the sugar wherever you can find it.

Our next stop was the new wood pile. These are only some of the smaller branches of the maple and pine tree. Lucky us- there should be plenty of wood for winter fireplaces and some S’more campfires.

This huge pile of branches is the perfect Hide&Seek spot. It’s like they made it just for us! It was a lot of fun to hide in the branches from each other. Only one problem… everyone hid so no one ever found us. Oops!

We made our way over to this huge pile to play King of the Mountain. We read about it in last year’s beach post. (Thanks for the idea, friends!) I’m a pretty fast squirrel, but once again, I’m no match for friends with wings. Oh, well. We had a great time!

Of course, Wol the Owl then spotted these stumps with his amazing eyes. Dan explained that these got knocked over by the super large pines near the fire pit. We sure were lucky no one was outside. We heard they weighed about 3 tons (6,000 lbs)!

Up the hill, we discovered the tracks the Bobcat made when it hauled the logs and branches. We are glad Yeti wasn’t running the machine. If the humans (who actually know how to drive) made this much of a path, who knows what it would look like?

We saved the best for last. Surprise! Thanks to the storm & the tree project, we finally have an amazing sledding hill. No rocks, trees, or other hazards. We’d be happy to help level and fine-tune this slope so it’s the perfect sledding run when all the snow comes. Can’t wait!

Well , that’s all we have to report. As you can imagine, we are exhausted after being out all day that was filled with excitement. Talk to you soon.

-Scottie, Wol the Owl, Flicker, and Loonie