Not a Dog

For you SIL, a portrait of Ratdog -- the only chihuahua I have ever liked ;)

 

Into the Swamp

I cannot believe it has taken a solid week to get the rest of the photos from our paddle posted. Our internet connection has been quite sketchy and unpredictable this past week, leading to some massive frustrations. It seems to be cooperating a little better this morning...

Beyond the upper end of the millpond lies the swamp. It is one of our favorite places to paddle, water levels permitting. I always like to have a full day to explore -- I hate to feel rushed when I enter the swamp.

As we entered, blue pickerel weed and bright red cardinal flower greeted us. It is past peak bloom time for these flowers, so it was a treat to see them.

At the base of a beaver lodge we spied a shed snake skin. It still had the tail section attached, enabling us to determine that it was from a venomous snake. Venomous snakes have an undivided anal plate (the scute that covers the opening to the cloaca) and undivided subcaudals (tail scutes). In non-venomous snakes, the anal plate and tail scutes are paired.

A view of the channel that runs through the swamp. You have to be careful that you follow the main channel -- there are plenty of false ones to trip you up.

There is something everywhere you look in the swamp. From birds in the trees to insects and spiders in the herbaceous vegetation. We found one spot that was full of fishing spiders, some guarding egg cases.

In other spots they were just hanging out on trees or cypress knees. Pretty cool.

We spent as much time in the swamp as we could, but eventually we had to turn around and head back out onto the pond. Not long after we re-entered the upper pond we were greeted by our second gator of the day. It was stretched out amidst some lily pads, soaking in the last sunrays of the day. It seemed quite unconcerned as we glided past. It was busy thinking gator thoughts, I guess.

That's it for now. Hopefully I'll make it out to some interesting places during my vacation in October. Speaking of vacation, our son left on his early this morning. He is headed to Beijing for nine days. And yes, I do mean China...

Same Road, Different Snake

In just a few minutes Treebeard and I are heading off to the city to see our "baby" -- all 6'3" of him ;) It's hard to believe that our little Flamebrain turns 25 today. Where does time go?

Before we go I wanted to share a few images of another snake I saw this past week in the work swamp. It was on the same road as the rattler -- the work swamp is a snaky place, doncha know :) This one is an eastern kingsnake. When I saw it, it was quite busy pushing its way into a turtle nest to get the eggs.

 

 

 

Have a terrific Friday.

A Case of Sunshine

Having a Friday off is a wonderful thing. Having to go to the dentist on that Friday off to have a filling repaired is not a wonderful thing. Arriving home to find that a whole case of delicious oranges had been delivered while we were gone is a wonderful thing. Having a sister-in-law as thoughtful as mine is a wonderful thing.

That's three wonderful things to one not-wonderful thing...wonderful wins!!

Thanks, SIL!! They are delicious and very juicy.

 

 

Triplicats

 

The triplicats enjoyed all the extra laps that were available over the Thanksgiving holiday, but they were particularly fond of No. 1 son Hippie's lap. They spent many a contented hour keeping him company during his visit.

Friday and Smidgen have been "fixed" and Weasel is waiting for her turn at the vet's. We believe in spaying and neutering and we also feel that cats should be kept indoors. Thus, the kitties have pretty much taken over the house and consider anything and everything a toy. Today they followed me from room to room as I did a little housekeeping. Cleaning the toilets seemed to be especially fascinating to them and changing the sheets has become one of their favorite activities. My big cat, Wiki, is not amused by their antics for the most part -- although, I have spied her playing with them when she thinks I'm not looking.

Damn cats ;)

A Small Foray

For a brief time today I escaped the confines of the office and did a little trail scouting for a hike I am leading tomorrow. It was glorious! Blue, blue skies and milder temps made for a perfect day. Hope you had an equally awesome Tuesday.

Currently I am stuffed to the gills with some most excellent Vietnamese food - courtesy of SIL. She visited our favorite Vietnamese restaurant before she left Charlotte this morning. Such a considerate sister-in-law. Plus she came bearing gifts from the city, including a bottle of my favorite brandy! Two of the gifts came from one of our nieces. I will take a picture of them and post that tomorrow. She made one especially for Treebeard and one especially for me. Such a sweet niece!

The offspring will be coming in tomorrow, Hippie is coming in from Wilmington and Flamebrain is heading in from Raleigh. I have to work all day so there will be a cooking prep frenzy when I get home. Got to have everything ready for Thanksgiving dinner for my "babies." ;)

My Kind Of Housework

We had a few heavy things we needed to get out of the woods near the house we live in now so we can move them to our new place. Treebeard borrowed a tractor from a friend of ours and we got to work. I have limited tractor experience, but Treebeard is a pro. He is also a generous teacher, he let me do most of the tractor work so I could sharpen my skills. Backing into tight spaces, moving heavy objects with the front-end loader, and getting un-stuck were all lessons learned today. Fun, fun, fun -- definitely my kind of housework!

Family

Meet my grandpuppy, the amazing Grace. Yes, she's a pit bull, but don't let that scare you. She's the most even-tempered dog I've ever met.
The amazing thing about Grace is that she is deaf and blind. My younger son, Flamebrain, adopted her when the lady that had her had to give her up. (Seems Grace has a tendency to chew on cats if they get too close to her.)
Normally I'm not a fan of pit bulls, but you gotta love your grandkids, right? And she really is very sweet -- as long as you aren't feline.

And while we're on the subject of "dog" breeds I don't particularly care for...

Meet my niece, Ratdog (not her real name).
Yes, you're right...she's not a dog, she's a chihuahua. But she's a sweetie - go figure.
I don't like chihuahuas, but I like her.
Oh well, that's how it is with family.

House Update

The house is coming along nicely. Almost all the siding is done now, with just two small areas needing to be completed. The ceiling is up on the porch all the way around and the floor joists are in place on the porch off the master bedroom.

Inside, the drywall is up and mudding is well underway.
That's Treebeard hanging out in the Harry Potter room - our cupboard under the stairs. We asked our contractor to give us as much space in that closet as possible and he did a great job.
In case you're wondering about Treebeard's sling, he had surgery about two weeks ago to repair a torn rotator cuff. His recovery is going pretty well, but it will be a while yet before he can do much with that arm. I have to keep an eye on him because he will do too much if I let him.

Here's a crooked shot of my favorite room, the dining area off the kitchen. We tend to think of it as a sort of all-season part of the porch. We will be able to keep an eye on the vegetable garden, the grapevines, and the fruit trees from this room.

Here's one of the yard critters we saw on our visit to the construction site yesterday. It's an eastern amberwing, Perithemis tenera; one of the smallest dragonflies in North America. This little guy is just shy of an inch long and from a distance can be mistaken for a wasp because of the way it moves its wings and abdomen when it perches.
Other critter sign in the yard included deer tracks, fox tracks, turkey tracks, and opossum tracks. We heard a variety of birds in the swamp next door, including a barred owl, a woodduck and a red-shouldered hawk. When I stepped out into the weed patch that will one day be the front yard, I was fussed out by a yellow-breasted chat, serenaded by an indigo bunting, eyed by a blue grosbeak, heckled by a fish crow, and buzzed by chimney swifts and purple martins. Bluebirds, prothonotary warblers, parulas, yellow-throated vireos, common yellowthroats, yellow-throated warblers, a Louisiana waterthrush, white-eyed vireos, cardinals, Carolina wrens, great crested flycatchers, mourning doves, brown thrashers, and turkey vultures rounded out our bird list for the visit.

Yep, it already feels like home.

After Our Walk

Treebeard was trying to catch a nap when Wiki decided she needed to have her belly rubbed. Both seemed content. (Treebeard was not exactly a cat person when we met, but he has come around over the years. Guess he had to - around here it's "love me, love my cats.")

Yes, there is a story here -- but I'm not telling ;)

Hope everyone is feeling fine as frog hair this last day of 2006. We are celebrating Treebeard's birthday today -- 53 trips around the sun. Happy Birthday Treebeard!

Another Road Trip

Greetings from away! No pictures today, Treebeard and I are on a whirlwind tour of family: Raleigh yesterday, Charlotte today and tomorrow, lastly Wilmington on Tuesday morning and home Tuesday evening. Back to work on Wednesday. (After reading that I think I may need another cup of coffee...)

See you back at the swamp - TTFN!