What with the terrible news about; Japan's typhoon, US economic/political crisis, the Syrian civil war, bushfires in Sydney, bombing in Iraq, an airplane crashes in Laos, as well as the ill-health of those near and far – it is good to get out in nature and escape the stress of bad news both close to home and abroad.
Daisy had a busy day the other day. She is a delight.
First, she found a blue-spotted salamander.
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| The tail is a blur, switching it in rage! |
I liberated this one. It took off under the goldfish pond.
I put it on the ground, and it looked up at me, switching its tail. Not amused, nor grateful, apparently.
It ran under the goldfish pond rocks.
There was her highness, hunkering down in her plant pot.
Geraldine is doing nicely. A little fatter, and I'm missing a few wee goldfish. She is culling the livestock.
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| Geraldine bullfrog |
Next, Daisy was after a mouse.
Dorah has learned her lesson,
as one bit her nose last week! She kept away.
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Mousie was brave,
jumping up at her face. |
Daisy and the mouse from
Jennifer Jilks on
Vimeo.
It kept jumping up at her, getting as tall as it could,
pretending to be daunting. Daisy didn't make eye contact.
It was amusing and intriguing.
Field mousie ran under the conifer. Dorah came over, wondering what all the excitement was about. The dead leaves provide good cover for them. Their teeth are wicked, they've chewed holes in my goldfish pond liner. They are ubiquitous.
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| This one didn't get away last year! |
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| Dorah licks her healed nose! Perhaps she recalls... |
At this point, three cats were intrigued.
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Buster decided to check it all out.
He is in the shade, supervising. |
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All was for nought.
They lost it in the lavender bush! |
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| Not really team work! |
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| They gave up. |
Soon, it was boredom. Off we went.
They follow me everywhere.
People ask if I walk them on leashes,
but they seem to like going with me on the property!
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Instead, we checked out the backyard garden.
There were several wood frogs in the garden.
They, too, got away! |
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| wood frog |
We took a forest walk, to get their minds off of the missing prey. The colours were stunning. Sumac and Oak leaves, of course the red maples, and yellows of the birch trees. The forest is much brighter, without the canopy to block the sunshine. I do so love the changes.
Way down in the meadow, on our way back up to the house, beside the frog pond, quick as a wink, two were on the run.
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| Another one got away |
Daisy ran after the rabbit, but it got away! She was stoked! Dorah and Buster followed.
All of us were the better from some exercise, Dorah ran up the hill ahead of me, landing on the pavement doing a Kramer entrance, having a lay down whilst panting hard.
The delicious sights and sounds of the forest, and the smell of the leaves, are amazing. It brings back all those memories of fall days, frolicking in leaves as kids.
Nature has a great way of healing the soul.
The noise is the OPP, who are recertifying at the range 500m away. This is an annual thing. Daisy doesn't like it. Normally they do these tests in summer, when the foliage protects us from the sounds. They stand in a line of 12 or so, and fire for 10 seconds, all at the same time. At first, we thought it sounded like rapid fire guns, but they all start at once, stop, and try again. They have to hit the targets or they fail. Apparently, they lose sleep over it. The pressure to perform must be tough. They also provide some updated training, to keep them in top form.
