It's picture post time, with some story woven in.
First stop: Friday....
Here is evidence that Scrappy is losing his touch. Notice him absently sniffing the grass. But if you look at the pile of parking lot bumpers behind him...
You'll notice four little ground hoglets looking out at us and the rest of the world. All told, Scrappy had a total of 8 ground hogs that should have been within his sense of smell pass harmlessly by him, including three of them after I let him off his leash and shouted, "Go get 'em!" He looked at me and then turned to run- not where they went but to the nearest den he knew about. I showed him where they had run TO the den, and he joyfully tracked them backwards to where they HAD been. Not a good day for up.
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| Squirrel, not bear |
One shot from a late Saturday afternoon jaunt...
And then today (AKA Sunday morning)...
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| Columbines at the woods' north entrance |
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| Good morning, Big Guy! |
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| Scrappy getting his mojo back, moments after pursuing a chipmunk. That'a boy, start small. |
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| Biggest Jack I've seen |
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| Scrappy peels off at the bridge for a beach trip |
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And then up into the usual dead end.
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| "I said, I'm not going back there!" |
The black object in the grass above was a tragedy- a young goose who had apparently hit a wire above and crashed. He was on his back, weakly flapping his feet. Nothing we could do...
The barn swallows (above) were everywhere. Got buzzed pretty good a couple of times.
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| Finally getting Mr Limpy to take a break |
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| But I had to promise him a walk over the old bridge to the barn to get him to agree. |
Posts
Hi, Chris!
ReplyDeleteScrappy looks happy and that's the best you can hope for as he gets older and starts losing his senses. Your route through the woods was filled with fabulous sights. It's amazing how the area transforms from brown and barren in winter to lush and green in late spring. Those geese walking across the grass look huge in that photo. I thought it was a scene ripped from Jurassic Park! I hate to come upon hopelessly injured wildlife. I once found a baby bunny that had been attacked by some other animal. The poor thing had severe injuries, couldn't move and was sitting there shaking. Its wounds were teeming with ants and gnats. It was suffering. I knew there was no use trying to transport it to a vet, so I took it upon myself to put it out of its misery. That act haunts me to this day because taking a life, any life, is a huge decision.
Thanks for taking me along on your walk, good buddy Chris, and thanks again for leaving two superb comments on my latest post. I appreciate the time it took for you to do that.
Have a great week!
I think that all the time about Scrappy. I know his time is likely short, and I have to balance what he wants with what he can handle. We were actually on top of "mushroom ridge" when I took the pic of the geese, about a quarter-mile away. I wish I had had ANY means to put that goose down- other than maybe tossing him in the canal so he could drown. I don't think it would have sped things up by that much.
DeleteWOW I love the pictures. I sure wish we didn't live this close to the city. :/ We're trying to go out one day this week morel hunting. All this rain we just need some sun to warm it up a bit. :) Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteI'll have to frame the next post with just how close we ARE to the city.
DeleteGreat photos! I LOVE Scrappy resting on his back with legs in the air. That made me laugh. Sad about the goose.
ReplyDeleteLila does that with rabbits and squirrels. They will run right by her and she misses it while staring at one to the side or ahead. I wonder if she's older than what they said when we rescued her. I love my furry babies!
He does the roll to cool his back. He's getting more sensitive to sunshine as time goes on. Lila misses some? Didn't she destroy the virginity of your carpet with a kill?
DeleteChris:
ReplyDeleteExcellent job w/ the camera. Ground "hoglets"...LOL.
(feel bad for that goose, too - a shame)
You have COLUMBINES there? Amazing.
They WILL reseed themselves (perennials that they area), so expect more next year.
(maybe more colors, too)
The area (we) covered is greening out nicely, as well. Love that bridge. Looks like an oil painting.
Again, very well done, "fellow Avenger".
And kudos to Scrappy w/ his reacquired mojo!
Stay safe up there, brother.
Think the columbines are planted by the people who live right up agin the woods.
DeleteBTW, saw Civil War. Helluva show. Best line to Stan Lee- "Are one of you Tony Stank?"
Nice pictures. Maybe its good he didn't hunt/catch anything - you would have had to figure out what to do with the things. Except the goose, of course.
ReplyDeleteAnything he goes after, he wants nothing more than to give them a good sniffing. Even the ground hogs.
DeleteGreat, vivid shots, CW. That barn swallow looks like a flying fish. Who's that pretty man with Scrappy? =)
ReplyDeleteLord Humbarton, 3rd Duke d'Besancon, visiting from the east of france.
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