Friday morning P's (Peter and Pileateds)

Peter left this morning on his way to start grad school at the University of Mississippi. He packed up all his stuff and very neatly put away the things he is leaving here. He hugged us, waved to Sundance (who had come out with me to see him off) and disappeared south, planning to see his girlfriend one more time along the way. Hope he has a safe, uneventful journey through the middle of the country and that his Mississippi experience goes well for him. We look forward to seeing him again in August when he comes to pick up a few more items and fill us in on how it's going in Oxford. Oxford, Mississippi, that is.

Not long after Peter drove away, Tom called me to the window to see a pileated woodpecker in the back, the first I have seen on the property this year. A few seconds later, a second one appeared and they started in on one of the downed trees Tom had decided to leave for their enjoyment. Clearly he chose well.

It was still in the mid-30s ( about 2.2 C) when I got up this morning, but it is supposed to get up to 85 (29.4 C) on Monday for Memorial Day. The Dells being a resort area, this is the beginning of "the season" for tourists, and naturally the weather forecasts are all over the map. One weather site predicts thunderstorms all three days of the holiday weekend, and the other says only partly cloudy. It will be what it will be, of course.