Good morning. 🌷🌷🌷 21 February 2026 Yesterday morning, when I looked outside, the post in the center of the yard—the one topped with the bird feeder—was lying on the ground. It must have gone over during the night. That redwood post had stood its ground for a little over twenty years, but eventually the moisture won. What finally pushed it past the tipping point? Hard to say. Maybe wind. Maybe squirrels. Maybe a raccoon making its rounds. I lean toward raccoon, because the overnight seed‑depletion rate has been higher than usual. Either way, the day announced itself. I knew what needed doing. I grabbed my shovel and post‑hole digger and re‑excavated the hole, going down about twenty‑four inches. Then I broke for lunch. While eating, I opened the Lowe’s app and ordered a pressure‑treated, ground‑contact 4x4x6 for curbside pickup, then waited for the “ready” text. After lunch, Charlie and I hopped in the truck, drove to Lowe’s, and picked it up. An associate brought it out and set it in the bed for me. Back home, I set the new post in the ground and packed in enough dirt to hold it upright while I leveled it. I had to remove the mounting crosspiece from the old post—held on with two 16‑penny nails. Fortunately, I managed to salvage one of them after pulling off the head piece, and that was enough to secure the crosspiece to the new 4x4. It already fit snugly, so one nail would do. After that, it was just a matter of screwing the feeder back onto the mount, and just like that, we were back in business. I re‑leveled the post, poured about ten pounds of cement into the hole, watered it in, added more dirt, and called it done. “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” - “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” “I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world.” - E.B. White #photo #photography #photographer #wildlife #nature #morning #flower