Friday 30 May 2014

Deer, Loons and Lady Slippers

My planters have flowers!
Stay away, Bambi!
He has some sort of tumour...
Must be ticks on his face.
Too soon for deer flies

We have a male who trods across the back yard every few days, or at least when I'm out there! They know they are safe here. The poor guy has a growth on his hind quarters. We don't normally see the males. Ours is more a winter yard for the females. The odd time Tigger and his twin brother come by, but usually there is only the one female who hangs out on the property over the summer. I've scared her, standing munching in the frog pond. Scared me, too! They are not tame, by any means.

The ticks are beginning to cause trouble.
I researched it and there are about 850 tick species. Deer tick or black-legged tick; dog or wood tick, but the bottom line is to spot them and remove them. (Easy on the white cats!)

Daisy is the definite winner. Despite Revolution, which doesn't prevent them from latching on anyway. We are vigilant and check them every time we see them indoors. We have a new cat door and they can come and go during the day time. Once, Buster brought in his late field mouse friend, but otherwise it is working well!

They've been much more active.
Daisy - the winner



In other news...our kind neighbours permit me to dock my canoe on a piece of their property. They sculpted out a nice spot. Hubby helped me take it over on the wagon. 
lovely pair
Off I went for a brief canoe ride - heading into the wind. The wind was harsh, and I managed to get up to 4.4 km/hour to get myself around a bend! My arms will be sore. There were a pair of loons in the bay, trying to avoid the cool winds. It was a riot trying to steer the canoe and take their photo. 

The Lady slippers had their brief moment in the sun! We have 5 Lady slipper plants, I was so excited! I'd spotted their leaves last summer, and was determined, despite the black flies and mosquitoes, to grab a photo. Dorah came with me.

7 comments:

Roan said...

Nice shot of the deer showing velvet. Fergus went out in the back yard for about 5 minutes and came back with a tick crawling on his head. I hate ticks! Beautiful lady slipper.

Red said...

I've already had a tick. I won't see lady slippers for at least two more weeks.

William Kendall said...

Lovely shots!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Oh that loon pair is wonderful! Love the flowers and your spring stories (except for the ticks of course)>

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari Om
What a wonderful pair of entries you have given us! Who needs National Geographic??! Have a great weekend. YAM xx

Unknown said...

Surely this is a site well worth seeing.

Kay L. Davies said...

Loons, how wonderful! I love their sound.
Poor little deer fella, though, with ticks and tumour. Well, Dick and Lindy are back from their walk. I heard the door squeak and now I hear Lindy panting.
Luv, K