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| Morning light over Central Ridge (today) |
We
had several brief rain showers in the early morning -- not even enough to
settle the dust or clear the air of smoke, but the vegetation appreciated it
anyway. Since it’s cooler, it will be a good day to bake zucchini bread.
Monday
I noticed a controlled burn on the other side of Little Canyon and ventured
down to the pond to take pictures. We’ll undoubtedly see many such fires into
the fall.
Mike
took a road ride out to Craigmont this morning, and while he was gone I took the
dogs and the camera and walked up the road. The downside was that our vistas
are obscured by smoke, but we enjoyed the outing anyway. Endearingly,
Nellie stayed right beside me for the entire hike. It took her about a week to
fully recover from the snake bite, but she’s feeling good again now.
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| Nellie moves through the garbanzo field (today) |
Speaking
of snakes, Mike saw Rattler #19 at the corner of the barn on Monday. He also reported that while he worked out in his "barn gym" the other day, a 4-foot bull snake slithered by him. (I don't work out at the barn.)
From where my laptop sits on Grandma Ina’s old pantry
cupboard in the corner of the dining room, I look at the southwest corner of the barn. The last few days I’ve seen a bunny
down there, and this morning we saw two – one bigger than the other. Oh-oh.
The
hummingbirds are still here and partaking of the delicious nectar I prepare on
a daily basis. Unfortunately, they are now vying with the yellow-jackets.
We’ve
known for a while that a family of American Coots has taken up residence at the
pond. The algae situation is much improved, so Mike researched and discovered that
indeed, the coots do eat algae.
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| Doe at Plank's |
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| She doesn't see us |
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| Now she sees us |
On
this morning’s walk, I was able to take a few pictures of a doe. The three of
us (Bess, Nellie, and I) spotted her about the same time as we descended Plank's Pitch. We stood still and
held our breath. She didn’t see us at first. Even when she did, she stood
to watch us for a minute before bounding away. Bess did not chase, which earned
her a “Good girl, Bess!" KW
5 comments:
What on Earth is a coot???
I have provided a link at "American Coot" in the text. Technically they aren't ducks but they live near water. We often see them at Swallow's Nest in trees. Our family has five youngsters.
I'm so glad the coots aren't you and Mike!! LOL
Harriet remarked along those same lines, Chris. She said I had taught her something. Just to set the record straight, Mike is an old codger, not a coot. And I, of course, am still the sweet young thing he married.
Love it!
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