Out in the sun

Danny boy enjoying a day in the sun.

Rememberence

Memorial Day, a time to reflect and remember. To all the soldiers and sailors, especially my Dad, we say thank you, we miss you and will always love you.

Woodpeckers

While eating dinner tonight with the door open, I heard the pileated woodpecker. I have seen this woodpecker on our morning walks, so was not surprised to hear the loud knocking as it pecked at a tree.

What did surprise me was that when I was later in the yard, I saw two pileated woodpeckers! One was a little smaller than the other and I believe they were a male and female. I did not have time to get a picture, but here is what the pileated woodpecker looks like, if you haven't seen one (or 2 ;) )

Marist & Kelly

Meet Marist and Kelly. At 6:00am these kits were already running in the yard.
Marist is named in honor of Marist College's mascot (the red fox). Kelly is for Brother Kelly, one of my favorite professors.

Fox kits x 2

As we were cleaning up the dinner table, I looked out the window and saw 2 fox kits (babies) near the shed. My first thought was "wow, they are SO cute" and then "they look like puppies". The one kit walked up the ramp to the shed and sat down (this is the woodchuck's favorite sunning spot). The other kit just sniffed in the grass (perhaps smelling Danny ??).

When we opened the door to take a picture, the foxes ran under the shed and disappeared. I did not see any parents around. I wonder what happens when the foxes and woodchuck meet in the burrow/tunnels ?? Jeff is betting that the fox would kick some ***

Bird dog

A couple of years ago, Jeff got me a decorative bird cage. It makes the perfect do-dad to put on the base of the fireplace. There is a little wooden bird perched atop the birdcage.

Danny was playing with his toys the other day while I was reading a book. He came over to me with something in his mouth. At first, I paid no attention but something in my mind clicked and I realized it was too small to be one of his toys. I decided to check, just for kicks, and after a few minutes of prying was able to get Danny to open up for me.

It was the little wooden bird from the cage! Not a scratch on it, mind you. Of course what else would you expect from a retriever? I couldn't help but laugh as he pranced around with the little birdie hanging from his lips. Never a dull moment with this dog around...

Hummertime

The last few rainy days have kept Hummer away. As we were eating dinner tonight, two hummers visited the feeder right outside the kitchen. By the time we grabbed the camera, they were gone. After a few minutes, they came back and we were able to snap a couple pictures.

A dog's life

Oh to be a dog. This is Danny boy in that magical time between his morning walk and his breakfast when I'm in the shower.

Images of spring

What spring looks like at our house:

The Gate - Part II

The gate has now been painted and you can see that the grass is slowly growing.

Maddy and Paddy (the ducks) have been back to visit. In fact, when they are hungry they become quite bold and will march up to the driveway in search of a snack. With the fox running around, I get a little nervous. I'm not sure if a fox would eat a duck, but I don't want to find out.

When Danny sees the ducks, he still races to the edge of the pond, but always stops before making the final leap. In fact, he is much more fascinated by the woodchuck and will just sit and stare at the opening to the burrow.

Danny and the woodchuck

We gave Danny a bath today and were in the front yard waiting for him to dry off. We headed towards the pond and expected that Danny would follow. After a few minutes we realized that Danny was not with us. We turned around and there he was - slowly, patiently stalking the woodchuck.

The woodchuck was at the edge of our property, eating grass and Danny would take a step stop, stare, take another step. The woodchuck did not move at all - either he didn't notice Danny or didn't care.

Danny crept up on the woodchuck and when he was about 5 ft away, he broke into a run. Unfortunately for Danny, the woodchuck's burrow was about 2 feet away. When the woodchuck disappeared, Danny was so confused - he stuck his nose down the hole, and had to be dragged away.

Seeing Danny stalk the woodchuck made me realize that he is a hunter at heart.

The Gate

As part of the new landscaping, there is supposed to be a gate at the top of the stone stairs.We have been waiting for the gate to be installed and today it finally arrived!

We are trying to decide if we should stain it white or some other color. It gives an interesting focal point to the yard.

There is one stump left to be removed and then the project is complete.

The grass is slowly coming in - a few sunny days and some light rain would really help.

Hummer's Back

For the first time this season I spotted a hummingbird flying around the fuchsia. Last year it took me several months of coaxing with feeders and flowers (aka woodchuck snacks) before the hummingbirds appeared.

I immediately boiled some sugar water and put it out in the feeders. I hope that we will soon see hummer all the time.

Does it get any better than this?

A nice spring day playing toss with your buddy.

Free to good home, part II

The annual spring cleaning frenzy has taken hold in the Garage. Quite a few stray gloves were tossed along with the year's casualties in the Bird Feeder department.

In the year we've owned this house, I've picked up stray kid stuff all around the yard. The first month was the most fruitful with 3 or four baseballs, two basketballs and 4 golf balls (3 wiffle, 1 regular). We had some stuff that the previous owners left behind, so we sent the stray balls along with it. Since then, whenever I found a ball I threw it into a box in the garage. That box got cleaned out tonight and it's contents may surprise you:

• 9 golf balls (6 regular, 2 wiffle, 1 playskool)
• 2 playskool golf clubs (1 driver, 1 iron)
• 4 baseballs
• 1 tennis ball
• 3 basketballs (2 regular, 1 nerf)
• 1 home base
• 2 matchbox cars
  

I think we've found most of the stray items, but the first mowing of the year might turn up something new.

To the point of the post.

Since I scored the monster toolbox from Sears, I don't need my spare box. This is a Stack-On three drawer toolbox that measures 20" wide and 8" deep. The top opens and I don't have a key for the lock. It is free to the first person who emails me at marist89(at)excite.com [replace the (at) with @]. I don't mind holding on to it until I see you next. If I get no takers, it goes to the Holy Family Regional Christmas Tag Sale in November.

A new visitor

This morning while playing ball with Danny in the front yard, we saw a fox for the first time. Danny showed no interest at all - the fox crossed the front yard and headed down the road.

Tonight while cooking dinner I looked out the window and the fox was back. This time strolling thru the back yard and into the woods. I always thought foxes were red, but this one is brownish.

According to Google, foxes like to nest in enlarged groundhog/woodchuck holes. I wonder if that means we have a new tenant under the shed.