Who's In the Backyard? -- Squirrels -- American Red Squirrels and Eastern Gray Squirrels

 

This week I promised to talk about some of the other critters in our yard besides our birds. Although I love watching the birds. In our backyard we have squirrels and this summer we not only had our usually gray squirrels but we had some red squirrels--lots of them. Most of the red squirrels have moved on now but we had so many of them. I named them all Squeakers because of the noise they made at me and at each other. We do not have black squirrels but I have seen them in my friend's backyard in New York State. Now both types of squirrels in our yard chased their own kind all around and stared at me when I was in my hammock. The red squirrel even squeaked at me when I was reading and not watching him in the tree. 

Books to help kids train their pets -- National Dog Day is tomorrow!

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Did you know tomorrow (August 26th) is National Dog Day? National Cat Day is October 29th and January is National Train Your Dog Month. In honor of these "holidays" I am going to share two books from National Geographic Kids about training dogs and cats. Since tomorrow is National Dog Day we will start with Fetch! A How to Speak Dog Training Guide by Aubre Andrus and Gary Weitzman, D.V.M. 

Ava DuVernay -- #blacklivesmatter Series

 

Last week I shared about two Black actors. Today we are sharing about a director, Ava DuVernay. If you missed it, yesterday I shared a tidbit about a Black teacher in my review of a quilt book. I may explore more about her life in the future. Today however we are looking at Ava DuVernay and the first thing I want to say is Happy Birthday, Ava!

Divided Hearts: A Civil War Friendship Quilt -- A Crafty Sundays Review

 

Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book in return for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. The links are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

Our country is divided right now. It is wearing on my heart. I usually try to ignore politics as much as I can. It keeps me more relaxed and at peace. However with everything going on right now and it being a presidential election year it is basically impossible to ignore. I have read articles about how our current politics are breaking up relationships--marriages, siblings, parent-child and friendships. This has not occurred before in our lifetime, but it did occur in our country. In fact our country had a civil war because of such differences. The Civil War divided families, neighbors and friendships. Perhaps that is what drew me to today's book. I feel we are in many ways at a similar point and finding a divide in our country. Today's book is Divided Hearts: A Civil War Friendship Quilt by Barbara Brackman.

Who's In the Backyard? Nuthatches & Chickadees -- Fun Facts, Crafts, & Books

 

The birds are beginning to slow at my feeders, but I am still enjoying them. I am doubling up this week because the summer is almost over and the birds that migrate are beginning to leave here. Today I am going to share about nuthatches and chickadees. I feel like almost everyone knows a chickadee but not everyone recognizes a nuthatch. Do you? We will start with nuthatches. I will be focusing on White-Breasted Nuthatches and Black-Capped Chickadees since those are the species in my yard.