Wednesday, April 10, 2013

I is for Intelligence



Gramps and Ryan with an animal he could outsmart
PT’s 91 Years of Wisdom
This year, I had a terrible time trying to figure out what my A-Z theme would be.  I finally decided that this year, I would honor my beloved 91 year old grandfather, Paul Titus, or PT as his friends called him, who passed away on February 8th.  He lived a wonderfully full life and was always trying to challenge my brothers and me to think out of the box.  So for this challenge I thought I would share little bits of his wisdom that he tried to bestow upon us.  
But I also want to highlight the wonderful bloggers in this community who have published their books.  So everyday, I will give a quick  shout out to those works with titles beginning with the letter of the day.  



Gramps had an ongoing fight with the squirrels in his backyard.  It all started, the day he came home and saw a big fluffy tail swishing at the top of his bird feeder. The body of the squirrel was wedged inside the tube and most of the seeds were now in its stomach.  
Gramps, an avid bird watcher, wasn’t happy.  He set about devising different ways to keep the squirrels out and the seeds in.  He put a big metal dome over the feeder, which deterred the mammals only for a while until they learned enough gymnastics to stretch their bodies over the dome, grab the feeder tube, and do a pull-up to steal the seeds.  
Every time Gramps tried something new, the squirrels adapted their technique and still went away with all the seeds.  Then he had an idea.  
Instead of keeping them out of the bird feeder, he decided to feed the squirrels their own meal of nutty fruitcake.  But he wasn’t into to giving them handouts.  He wanted to make them work for it. So he rigged up a contraption where he hung a piece of fruitcake from a thick rubber band.  He thought it would be just out of the squirrel’s reach, but every time the squirrel figured it out.  So Gramps declared, “I hate an animal that’s smarter than I am.”

****
I couldn't find any books with "I"s to begin their titles.

Hope you have an incredible "I" day. Don't forget to check out all the other great A-Z entries here.

Kathy :)

10 comments:

  1. Great post! I too hate squirrels- they're very annoying and just an overall nuisance!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm always torn between being annoyed with the squirrels eating my wild birdseed and being impressed with how they manage it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Aw, I think squirrels are cute! This was a lovely post and tribute to your grandfather thank you. What a grand old gent!

    Susan Scott's Soul Stuff

    I'm torn whether to mention this but you did say: I have a published book :IN Praise of Lilith, Eve & the Serpent in the Garden of Eden & other stories :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm sorry you lost your grandfather. Mine lived to about 91, too. He battled the deer, rabbits, mice, and everything else that liked to munch his garden.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your grampa sounds like he was a very creative and fun person! Such great memories, and thank you for sharing them!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a lovely tribute to a man who sounds like everyone would have loved. Putting all these posts together would make a wonderful gift for each of your grandfathers children and grandchildren!
    Blessings!
    Pam at 2 Encourage

    ReplyDelete