When the weather turns chilly...

we don't see much of our pups, literally.

Red-bellied woodpeckers eating mealworms

Our resident pair of red-bellied woodpeckers are feeding babies & it doesn't take them long to go through a couple hundred mealworms...

They left a few for the bluebirds -

Lake Gaston snowman

I wanted to do this when we had a couple of inches of snow in January, but the snow wasn't sticky enough. Today there was much better "snowman making" snow.

Red fox on a gray day

When I first saw this red fox this morning he was standing on our dock in the drizzling rain. By the time I found my camera, snapped one useless photo (through glass, plastic & screen), then changed the dead battery, I was lucky to get any photos at all. But he didn't seem to have use of his right front leg and his left back leg, so he didn't move very quickly and he rested frequently. Of the 30 photos that I took, here are the best ...

The Ultimate Bike Lock

Mealworms - not just for birds...

I keep my mealworm colony in the attic over our garage. But it's not just mealworms living there. There are also a few of these 5-lined skinks keeping them company. I think of them as my clean up crew. They can't get into the trays, but they will gladly take care of any that drop on the floor.





Her name is "Liz", the same name we have for all of the lizards. The day I took these photos, I was trying to teach her to fetch. I don't think she understood the rules. I would toss her worms, but she never brought them back.

One of these things is not like the others...

tree swallows

I took this photo the evening that our tree swallow babies fledged. I think this is one of the parents trying to coax the last baby out of the nest.

I love Lake Gaston!

View from the car window

She waited while I zoomed in a little...





I took this one just before she ran away. When she got up, I noticed she was wearing a collar - what's that all about? You can barely see it in this photo - click to enlarge, if you like.

Riding shotgun

Are we almost there????

No ugly shows here -

I saw this sign in a laundromat & thought it was cute. It just seems so "southern".

Isn't that my toy?

The cutie pie on the left is our nephew's 5 month old daughter. She has no clue how badly Pup 2 wants her toy!

Lake Gaston

Early morning (at least for me)

Flying daschund ears

Keil's first boat ride - he enjoyed it





and we got a kick watching his ears fly in the breeze.








Reminded us of Sister Bertrille (yes, we were alive back in the 60's)

Could they be any cuter?

mallard ducklings

Crest white strips?

This is Maggie, our friendly neighborhood golden lab. She has a great smile.

Not mine, of course

pretty...

Passing by

I'm not the only one who's enjoying this warm weather...

Flirting with danger

Look at them all dressed up in their summer finery. I think they were planning their trip home - I haven't seen a loon since I took these photos last week.





common loons

We've been coughing...

That floating gunk that he's swimming through is pollen - it's everywhere!

Extra large

I received this photo from my brother today - his three are a little larger than our pups, but just as cuddly.





Our pups leave a little more room on the sofa for me. On the other hand, I can't use them for pillows.

Welcome to Florida!

I took these photos when we drove to Florida a few weeks ago. This was our first stop just inside the Florida border. I haven't seen boat-tailed grackles since we left Florida last year. Haven't missed them too much.

Anticipation

Our pups on the right, cousin Kiel (long-haired dachshund) on the left - may we please have some of your snack???

Yum!

A little meat...





Then some Zick dough for dessert...





Why is that the little ones take the biggest pieces?

Double-decker squirrels

Beach art - Don Pedro Island

On our recent Florida vacation, my husband & I took a long, long, long walk on the beach at Don Pedro Island. Here's some of the "artwork" we saw along the way...

The journey is half the fun...

Mention the word "ride" around our pups & they practically fly into the car. It's amusing to me that they have no idea where they will end up - a three mile trip to the post office or 650 miles to Aunt Bev's in Florida - doesn't matter to them. Ahhh, life is good!

Florida scrub jay - close up!

After a couple of years of saying "we should go see the scrub jays", we finally did it. We were told that the place to see them was at Oscar Scherer State Park, near Sarasota Florida. So on the way to my sister's house on Don Pedro Island, we took a little detour. We asked the gate attendant where we could find some scrub jays. She told us to drive through to the last parking lot, then follow the yellow trail. She said we probably wouldn't have to walk very far down the trail to see some. That was an understatement. As soon as we stepped out of the car, we heard them and saw a few flying around. I took a few photos of them drinking from a small creek, then we headed down the trail.


The park's brochure said not to feed the wildlife, but it was obvious that not everyone obeyed that rule. These birds were downright tame! My husband held out his empty hand and 2 jays fluttered inches above it to see if he was offering any food.


Florida scrub jays are listed as a "threatened species", but it was obvious that they didn't "feel threatened" by us! This guy perched about 2 feet away from my camera lens and posed for me like a perfect little bird model...











Florida scrub jays

A new home for Allie

Our neighbors' Sheltie passsed away last summer. And from these dog lovers we've been hearing "we'll get another Sheltie someday, but we're not ready for another dog yet". So we were surprised to see a dog in the back of their car as they drove in their driveway last week. Check her out - definitely not a Sheltie! She's a sweet stray that had been hanging around their church for a couple of weeks. Now she has a great home. I love happy endings!