Fledglings

While visiting upstate NY this weekend, we saw these baby robins! The nest was built on the front porch in a planter.

What amazed me is how quickly the birds grew. The first time I saw them, their eyes were closed. The next days their eyes were open and the feathers well defined.

This is the robin's third brood this summer. Talk about being a busy Mom ;)

Chasing woodchucks

A woodchuck has decided that the perfect place to live is under our shed. This drives Danny crazy and he is always chasing the woodchuck!

The woodchuck may appear slow and stupid, but it is very cautious and moves surprisingly fast.


I don't think that Danny will ever catch this creature, but I give him credit for never giving up, especially on hot days!

Two Fawns

I had the front door open this morning while it was nice and cool. Danny was at the door sniffing, so I peeked out the door and saw two fawns crossing the front lawn. I grabbed the camera and by the time I was ready they were at the end of the driveway. I managed to get this shot off before they hopped off into the woods.

Ducks , Foxes and a Coyote

We have not seen Maddy and Paddy for about 2 weeks, so we think they have found a new home for the summer. They also disappeared when the weather turned warmer last year, so we are optimistic that we will see these ducks again next spring.

When Jeff was moving the lawn this weekend, the coyote ran across the lawn. The interesting thing was that when Danny went out a few minutes later, he immediately ran to the area where the coyote had been.

Danny is always sniffing out various scents in the yard and he will follow the scent trail. Sometimes he runs at full speed, nose down and I wonder just what he is chasing.

Jeff also saw the fox and one of the kits in a neighboring yard, so they are still around somewhere.

Wilton is #16 on top earning towns

Three cheers for our town of Wilton! Wilton has placed #16 on Money's list of highest median household incomes in the US.

Wilton's median income is $163,000.

Other neighboring towns which rank ahead of Wilton are:
13 - Weston
14- Darien
15 - New Canaan

I thought it was interesting and surprising that 4 towns in Fairfield County would be in the top 25 and all grouped together !

For details see:
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/moneymag/0707/gallery.BPTL_highest_income.moneymag/16.html

New Finds

The past few months have unearthed some new finds.

On the left, is a bottle that was sticking out of the ground in the back yard. It is marked "DESIGN PAT 89237" on the bottom and I think it looks like some sort of medicine bottle.

The bottle on the right is also a clear glass bottle. This one I found as I was using some left-over rocks and creating borders around some of the flower beds. It had a rusty metal cap that crumbled in my hand when I tried to screw it off. There are no discerning marks on the bottom. Valerie thinks it's anther medicine bottle, but I think it's just too small. I think it's something like a tonic or vanilla extract bottle. Maybe you have an idea?

Heat Wave

We may think the weather is hot, but poor Danny is miserable. Even with the air conditioning on, he just sits and pants. When I get in at night, we usually play ball - now Danny will chase it once and head back inside.

The funny thing is that he is an Alabama dog - shouldn't Connecticut weather be a breeze for him ?

Jeff has suggested shaving Danny, but I love his coat too much to have it cut off.

Rhodies

We know that summer is here, because the rhododendrons are in bloom. Along one edge of our property is a big wall of rhodies (as our landscaper friend calls them).

When we first moved in I was not very fond of these plants and suggested they be removed. The landscaper gave me an "are your crazy" look and said do you know how many people would love to have these ? A year later, I have changed my mind. They act as a nice buffer and it is beautiful when they are all in bloom.

Luckily the deer have shown no interest in these bushes. Hopefully the new fawn that visits will follow his Mom's lead and ignore these flowers.

Wanna go for a ride?

When I ask Danny "Wanna go for a ride?" he always takes me up on it. Sometimes we go downtown and walk the main street, sometimes just for a ride, and sometimes we go to the dog park. Yesterday, we went to Winslow Park otherwise know as the Westport Dog Park.

I opened up the trunk to get his blanket out and he jumped right in the trunk!

When we got to the dog park, there were six or seven dogs already in the park playing. Usually, Danny is ready to play with the other dogs, but yesterday he was just interested in sniffing everything and everyone.

We took a walk around the park and after about 45 minutes headed for home. About 3 minutes into the ride home, Danny was sleeping in the back.

Stormy nights

Poor Danny is afraid of thunder. That means none of us have been getting any sleep the last few stormy nights.

We can tell when a storm is coming - Danny begins to pant and paces back and forth. When the thunder finally arrives, Danny tries to hide under the bed or behind the couch. Unfortunately, Danny is too big to fit into such tight spaces.

The lack of sleep is taking a toll on all of us. Danny doesn't move when the alarm goes off for his morning walk and neither do we. I may have to start drinking coffee to get thru the day.

Duck Crossing

I was running late for work and as I raced into my car, I opened the garage door and began backing out the driveway.

The Lexus has a camera that shows what is behind you when the car is in reverse. I really don't pay much attention to the backup camera, but when I looked over at the screen, there were Maddy and Paddy - waddling behind the car!

I stopped the car and chased them to the pond.

As I drove on I wondered if we could sell this idea to Lexus as a commercial - cost of a backup camera $X, saving 2 ducks priceless (oops, maybe that is Visa commercial).

Hawks return

I have not seen much of the hawks since early spring. I assumed that they had either moved on to a new hunting ground or all the leaves made them much harder to spot.

The other morning, on the way home from Danny's morning walk I looked at the pond and there sat a beautiful red tailed hawk. The only time I have seen a hawk sit on the ground is when it is grabbing its prey. I immediately thought of Maddy and Paddy, but they were at the edge of the pond about 5 feet from the hawk.

The hawk sat for a minute and then flew off. Tonight I also spotted the hawk flying around the pond, so there must be something of interest out there.

Renovation

We have been thinking of renovating our house, but are having an extremely tough time finding a company to work with.

If you know of any architects or renovation contractors that you would highly recommend in Fairfield County, CT - please add a comment with their contact info.

Thanks!

Flip-flop

I have a pair of rubber flip-flops that I leave by the door, in case I need to go into the yard. The other day I noticed that there was one by the door and one in the middle of the living room.

I didn't give it much thought, just picked the shoe up and put it by the door. The next day I noticed the shoe was again in the living room. So, I placed it by the door and headed upstairs.

When I came down, Danny was caught in the act - happily gnawing on my flip-flop. Not that Danny doesn't have a pile of toys to play with. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, he probably thinks it is a larger version of his rubber bone.

Wish I got a picture !

Turns out it is not just flip-flops that Danny likes. As I was reading this to Jeff, he said he has caught Danny with my fuzzy slippers!

Maybe Danny has a shoe fetish ??

Foxes, Ducks and Turkeys Too

There are wild turkeys all over CT, but I have not see any in the yard, until today!

This turkey seemed to enjoy the tall grass around the edge of the pond.

Calla Lilies

I received this stunning flower arrangement for my birthday and wanted to share it with everyone.

Duck, Duck, Duck

For most of the spring, Maddy and Paddy have been frequent visitors to the pond. Occasionally, Dupree (the lone male) will fly in for an afternoon.

Now, for the last few days, another female mallard is living on the pond. This duck has a white ring around her eye and constantly swims back and forth. This is very different from Maddy and Paddy who tend to sit along the edge of the pond. She is shy and flies off if I get too close (sorry, no pictures). She constantly quacks/coos as she paddles along, it is such a happy sound, I can't help but smile.

Some Retriever

The heat just wipes poor Danny boy out. On Saturday it wasn't hot, but it was muggy. While I was taking pictures of the yard he was out rolling around in the new grass. When Maddy & Paddy the ducks came to see what was going on, Danny had no interest in even chasing them today. Some retriever, eh?

Complete

The landscaping is finally complete!

Brian Cossari and crew from Hoffman Landscapes put the finishing touches on our back yard today. The Town of Wilton's wetlands regulations would have been impossible to navigate without Brian's help. When there was a disagreement during the project, I feel Brian did the right thing by making sure I was satisfied even though it cost him a little money. While our project was on the small scale for them, I was always treated professionally. I would definitely use them again for any sized project.

And just look at the before picture, yuck!

Another new visitor

As I was leaving for work, I thought I noticed something slowly moving across the grass, on the side of our yard opposite the pond. I looked again but all I saw was green and then something moved again. I was not sure what it was - at first I thought of the usual suspects - the woodchuck or a squirrel, but they move too fast.

After staring for a few minutes, I realized that it was a turtle - its shell was about the size of a serving plate. The shell was very green and I think it must have come from the pond which is covered in green duckweed.

I shouldn't be surprised that the pond might contain turtles, but I was surprised to see such a big one. After a year, I thought I had seen all the wildlife, but I guess you never know what might show up.