A woman's view of hunting…with men
guns, dogs and birds
Forsythia blooms
Redbud
Snowdrops
Photos taken with my Canon
We disturbed a very large bird from its’ perch on top of a power line.
I didn’t get a good look at before it flew off, but it was big.
Charlie was busy hunting in a dead cattail marsh.
The creeks are still very low. Pretty but we need more rain.
Orso coudn’t get enough running around.
It was a beautiful morning just after sunshine. The dogs didn’t
stop running the whole time. They had so much fun, they didn’t really
even mind getting a bath when we got home.
Now I have tired happy and clean babies.
A great start for an early Spring Sunday morning.
These photos were taken with my Canon using a 55-250mm lens.
It’s the end of March, Spring has officially arrived but Mother Nature wants us to know who’s really in charge around here.
Photos by Susan Kelly using a 55-250mm lens
I came up with this scathingly brilliant idea on our walk this morning. Saturday is Mitch’s day off too so we get to sleep in, as late as 4 to 4:30am if we’re lucky. The morning was really pleasant, around sixty nine degrees or so, a great morning for a walk. The sun hadn’t been up long, about 6:30 when we got to the dam, no one else was around. It really is the best time of the day, quiet, the sun just up, it’s so peaceful.
Anyway, as we turned around to walk back, I looked over at the swim beach and all of the migratory geese that don’t migrate anymore, just hang out and poop all over the place. Why should they go anywhere, we have no natural predators around anymore, besides the wayward car or some sicko with a pellet gun. They’re not even afraid of the dogs, only because we won’t let them go after the geese. (Federally protected, lucky geese) That’s when I came up with this scathingly brilliant idea.
I think we should release alligators in the lake at night, then catch and pen them up during the day. Watch gators to protect the lake. We would even put up signs, to alert the public. Big signs posted around the lake saying, ” Beware – Watch Gators Swim At Own Risk”. It’s a win-win situation. Geese go away, trespassers get eaten.
Mitch looked at me like I was crazy when I told him my idea. He asked just how were we supposed to catch the alligators in the mornings. I said that we would get trained alligators. Trained to come when they were called. It could happen.
He said I was warped. Maybe I am.
Our friends tell us that we really know how to take a vacation. Of course I think they are being a bit sarcastic. We planned our vacation for the first week of May for a reason. Hopefully the weather will be nice, not too hot and no rain. The plan is to tear out one of our retaining walls and replace it before it collapses at an inopportune time. Like when a car is parked on the second tier drive. Our property is pie shaped on a hillside. The house sits at the lowest spot on the hillside with a large detached two car garage behind the house. There is a large two car driveway up to the garage then a single car driveway just above the garage leading to the shed door. Above that is a long graveled single car pad. In essence we have multiple parking spots for lots of people to park for parties we never have. Mitch is not social.
The retaining wall was built with railroad ties and after almost forty years was dilapidated and in need of repair. It ran from the garage to the end of the second tier drive. There was a bow half way down to the end making pulling into the drive a bit of a challenge. We would have to swing wide then pull back to the left to miss the railroad ties that jutted out. Bright and early with low skies we started the demolition of the wall. The demo went very quickly with me filling wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow with dirt dug out to expose the wall until we uncovered the reason the retaining wall jutted out. There buried in the side of the hill was a huge granite boulder. Evidently when the retaining wall was originally built they just built around the boulder instead of removing it. We tried to dig it out but it was way too big. Demolition was done for the day. Now we had to find someone with a backhoe or bobcat to dig out and remove the boulder. We always draw the black marble.
We called all of our friends (a very small list) to ask if anyone knew of someone who owns a backhoe and would be willing to come out and unearth our boulder. All laughed long and loud at our predicament. Funny, we didn’t think it was so humorous. Day two we found the best backhoe operator in the world who came over within a half hour of our call and dug out the boulder in record time. He even placed the boulder where I wanted it. Maybe there is a silver lining once in a while. Between the two of us, mainly Mitch, we finished removing all of the existing rotting ties and readied the area for rebuild. Mitch wisely called two friends to come and help re-lay the new railroad ties. At ten feet long these babies are way too heavy for me to help carry.
Day three the new retaining wall was re-erected in less than three hours with three strong men at work. Now the only thing left is to back fill the wall with the dirt we dug out to provide support front and back to keep it from collapsing. Guess who gets to wield the shovel? That is something I can do.
This day started very early as all Sundays do. We get up at 2:30 in the morning because Sunday is Mitch’s Monday and has to be at work at 4:30 in the morning. I get up with him, feed the dogs, fix breakfast and take him to work. We started this routine years ago when we worked different schedules and this was the best way to get to spend as much time together as we could, snippets of time. It has worked for us mainly because we like each other. We like to spend our free time together. Odd I know. Anyway, I dropped him off at work came home and took the dogs for a nice long walk. That’s one of the bonuses of Sunday, I don’t have to go to work so the dogs and I get to take a really long walk very early before anyone else is up. It’s quiet and the only things I run into in the morning is deer and small critters.
After the walk, we curled up on the bed and the dogs napped while I read the newspaper and enjoyed my morning coffee. The day looked like it would turn out nice, no storms as the weather service predicted. I decided that we should go to the lawn and garden store and buy some herbs to pot. I like to grow herbs and dry them. It has worked out well so I decided to branch out and add more variety to the mix. I take the dogs with me for company and they wait in the car barking and scaring anyone who walks past the car. Plus when they are with me then they’re not getting into trouble at home. Bonus.
I potted the herbs I bought and decided to plant the five pepper plants I bought too. I thought that I would wait another week on the tomato plants but saw a Poblano pepper plant and haven’t tried that variety before so I snagged it. Plus four more red pepper plants, I couldn’t help myself.
The dogs were just hanging out sniffing stuff while I planted the pepper plants, I looked up and noticed no AJ. He had wandered off. I looked around to make sure he hadn’t gone over to the neighbors to poop in their yard, no sign of him there. I looked up the hill and spotted him up under the Cedar tree. I called him to come down to me and as he got close I was sorry I had called him. He stunk to high heaven. He had dropped his head into something and mashed it all over his neck and side of his face. Now I had to stop what I was doing, take AJ to the basement garage and bathe him. And of course I had just put Frontline on the dogs this morning. AJ how could you? You’re supposed to be the good dog.
AJ enjoying the day
Charlie wound just a little too tight
Orso just watching
On our hike we ran across this. It looks like the extremely rare pond monster. A distant cousin to the Loch Ness Monster, but much smaller.
Orso trying to clear a puddle. A lab that doesn’t particularly like to get wet.
I went for a walk today with the dogs and my camera in tow to take some pictures of spring flowers. It seemed that almost all of the trees were blooming and budding out and the vast majority are redbuds. I had forgotten the multitude of redbuds growing in our little burg. In fact one of the roads is lined on both sides with redbuds. I decided that we need to rename the road to Redbud Lane. I’m not sure what the process is to change the name of an existing road, but I’m pretty sure it is a pain in the patooty. So I’m taking it upon myself to rename the road to Redbud Lane for the spring. It can revert back to the old name for summer, fall and winter. I think that’s a fair trade, after all I’m only claiming one of the four seasons. From now on, in the spring if someone asks the name of the road, I will truthfully say, Redbud Lane but come back later in the year and all bets are off.
Spring Joy
A woman's view of hunting...with men 