September | 2025 | wordsfromanneli

Oh, good grief, those squirrels are such messy eaters.

What do you think I should do? Such a mess!

It even spilled over the edge of the table!

I’ll just take this one sunflower seed. I wouldn’t want anyone to see me here and think it was me who made this mess!

Uh-ohhhh! The Steller’s jay is at my dining room table.

I have to hide these nuts I just got off the hazelnut tree.

That’s good. I’ll push it down with my nose. I still have one nut for my lunch. Think I’ll eat it now before that jay finds it. They are such thieves!

First, to get the shell off. Good thing I have really sharp teeth. I tried them out on Anneli’s thumb one time. I felt bad later, but what does she think? I need to be fed?

Oh, yes, now this is looking better. The shell is off and I’ve worked up an appetite.

Can’t wait to bite into this hazelnut!

I found a new place to eat. As you can see, I’ve switched to walnuts. They’re not so messy. But I still have to keep an eye out for those jays. I think I’ll have a quick bite, and then take the rest to my secret stash deep in the wood shed.

Life is never easy. You always have to be on your toes and have an alternate plan in case something goes wrong.

Did you know that the Sydney Opera House (in Australia) is a UNESCO World Heritage site? It is located on Bennelong Point overlooking Sydney Harbour and is known, among other things, for its “unparalleled design and construction.” UNESCO, in case you don’t know what all those initials stand for, is the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. The idea is that sites included as World Heritage Sites are meant to be protected by participating countries, in hopes of preserving their unique and wondrous qualities.

Some other UNESCO World Heritage sites are the pyramids, the Acropolis, temples in the Angkor area in Cambodia, Pisa, the Colosseum, and there are many others.

Danish designer, Jorn Utzon, won the international competition for the design of the Sydney Opera House in 1957, but the construction of the building had many problems, not necessarily his fault.

Those sail-like structures, when seen from a different angle, are a bit like scoops or ears. Made of concrete, they, alone, would be a challenge to build. The building is supported by 588 concrete piers, sunk as much as 82 feet below sea level. The specs are amazing and if you’re interested in finding out more, check out Sydney Opera House on Wikipedia.

The Sydney Opera House was not completed until 1973. On October 20th of that year, it was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth ll.

My friend who provided this photo, taken from one of the ferries in Sydney Harbour, attended a recent performance of Antonin Dvorak’s opera Rusalka. I immediately thought of one of my favourite arias of that opera, The Song to the Moon, but my version had a singer from many days gone by performing it. In this recent presentation, the soprano who sang that aria was Nicole Car. If you would like to hear her sing, please check out this youtube link. I hope you enjoy it. I did.