Mikey

Once in a while, while shooting pictures for Don's real estate company, I get a pleasant surprise. 

At a beautiful country home north of Gainesville, MO, I met Mikey, a friendly one-year-old cat. 

He followed me from room to room as I was taking pictures, 

and in the master bedroom, he jumped up on the bed, looked straight into the camera, and smiled! 

If you'd like to see the rest of his house, it's here.


Linking with Saturday's Critters

As the Deer

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.

Psalm 42:1


Click here for the song Karen referred to; I love it, too.

Linking with Saturday's Critters

Fast Food

Our bird feeder has been a fast food restaurant this week with the female cardinal doing the take out. 

She grabs a sunflower seed to go, and flies up to the big hickory tree overhead to feed her fledglings, 

who do everything in their power to attract her attention. 

They fly and hop from branch to branch, positioning themselves to receive their version of an Egg McMuffin.

Their incessant twittering imparts a sense of urgency. Mom can have no doubt about how hungry they are.

Yum!

A young male waits.

He is joined by his sister...

...and the girls win!

In years past, we've watched a male cardinal do the feeding, but in this family, it was all the mother's job.

"Did somebody say this was a BIRD feeder?

Linking with Wild Bird Wednesday

and Saturday's Critters

Raspberry Breakfast

She looked at ease in the garden, as if she belonged there, relishing her raspberry breakfast...

...checking to make sure she hadn't missed anything.

The small raised garden is west of the house, just a few yards below the deck off the kitchen. 

Don built it years ago out of railroad ties, and over time, it has had many productive seasons. 

This isn't one of them. At least, not for us.

Seeing a deer in the garden was not a surprise, but it seemed rather bold of her to be there in broad daylight.

I stepped out on the deck, and she paused mid-bite and looked up at me, as if to say,

"Just whose garden do you think this is, anyway?"

You know, she might have had a point, which raises the age old question:

Does a garden belong to the one who plants it,

or the one who harvests it?

Linking with Saturday's Critters

Evening Encounter

The last couple of evenings, Mama raccoon has brought out her kits.

 

Last night, they were minding their own business (that is, eating)...

...when two of them suddenly scrambled up a nearby tree.

Their anxiety came from the appearance of a doe, 

and they peered back timidly from the side of the tree as if to say, "Is it safe?"

Deciding to risk it, they sidled back down, but after a few tense moments, the raccoon family retreated to the woods.

"Was it something I said?"

Linking with Saturday's Critters

Early Rounds

At the close of a summer day, the sky holds its breath as a bright golden ball hangs on the rim of the horizon, waiting to drop into the net. Hummingbirds are making their final attack on the feeders, and deer and raccoons are waiting for the cover of night to raid the garden. I can live with giving up the beans and some tomato and cucumber greens, but if they mess with the cantaloupes, there's gonna be war.

Mama Raccoon made her rounds early last night, before the light had faded. As she sipped from the birdbath, climbed the stairs to the deck, and vacuumed up the remains of the bird seed, she appeared to be on familiar territory.

 More than likely, she has a nursery tucked into a nearby treetop. If she'll bring the kits by for a visit, a few greens and some sunflower seeds will be a small price to pay.

Linking with Saturday's Critters
and Skywatch Friday

First Fawn

There's a new resident of the fields and forests of Ozark County, and at our place, it's the first fawn of the year. We saw it a week ago, on what was probably its first day on the planet, a tiny thing with spindly legs, sticking to its mother like a teenager to her cellphone.

In one week, it's grown a lot and gained a little independence...

...and a lot of curiosity. Every blade of grass is a wonder to the small creature. 

Come to think of it, every blade of grass is a wonder.

This spotted adventurer can change direction in a hurry when its mother signals "dinner time".

It flies like an arrow out of a bow...

...back to its mother's side.

Life is good.

Note: In the images with 2 fawns, they are not twins, but blended photos of the same fawn.

Linking with Saturday's Critters

Rockabye Baby

Early yesterday morning, as the sun emerged from the clouds over the horizon, the four note song of the Carolina Chickadee drifted through our window. The little birds looked as if they were doing their morning calisthenics, hopping from branch to branch. Only later did I wonder if their activity was a birth announcement.

They are nesting in a birdhouse located in the old dogwood tree near the front of our house. 

There is a quick glance out the door...

...before they take flight.

My first hint that the nestlings had hatched was when I saw the diaper disposal.

 Carolina Chickadees are very neat.

Both parents feed the nestlings, and several minutes elapses between each feeding, so, like a bank robber timing the alarms, I calculated that I could get a look before the parents returned. As soon as one of the parents flew away, I set up a ladder, opened the hinged roof, and took a quick snapshot. In and out in 60 seconds.

At this point, the most predominant feature of the nestlings is their mouths, and considering how tightly the birds are packed in the nest and how quickly they get fed, it's good that the parents have big targets. The nestling's unopened eyes are only bumps on their heads and a few tiny feathers indicate their wings. Their are at least eight of them, and possibly one or two more.

Today we noticed that the branch that supports the birdhouse is rotten, and since rain and high winds are forecasted for tomorrow, we trussed the birdhouse up to a sturdier branch, while one of the parents looked patiently on.

We hope they sleep well as the wind rocks their cradle. We'll sleep better knowing that they're secure.

Linking with Wild Bird Wednesday

and Saturday's Critters

Stay Off the Menu

To the Virginian Tiger Moth on our front porch:

I remember last autumn, when you were a Yellow Wooly Bear caterpillar gorging on the plants in our flowerbed. Maybe you knew you'd be on a diet all winter. When your appetite was satisfied, you set out on the longest journey of your short life, trudging across the patio bricks with a purpose. You scaled the porch step, slogged across the porch, and climbed up the window frame all the way to the top.

There you found your perfect niche, and you constructed a fuzzy winter home.

This week, I noticed that the front of your dwelling had been opened, and that's when I saw you, 

pristine white, clothed in your miniature ermine coat. 

You probably thought you'd chosen a safe place to rest, but I have a warning for you. On rainy nights, the green tree frogs that you hear singing from the pond sneak up to the porch to dine on creatures like you who are attracted by the house lights.

It's raining tonight. But don't worry, we'll leave the lights off for you.


Linking with Saturday's Critters

Goodbye, Sweet Prince

We hadn't had a dog for a while and didn't know we needed one until we met Barley. And he needed us. He came into our lives just under eight years ago on what would have been the last day of his life. How could we have imagined the joy he would bring us?

Barley was four years old when he arrived at our house, and his first four years hadn't been easy. We loved him from the moment we set eyes on him. It didn't take long to become accustomed to the comfort of his companionship. Looking out for him became as natural as breathing. You notice such things when they are gone.

Walking toward the house today, I glanced back for Barley. It was a momentary lapse, then reality hit like a blow. Barley died at home Tuesday morning, most likely from an embolism. It happened quickly and it was a mercy that he didn't suffer long.

As words are still hard to come by, I'm adding some pictures as a tribute to the dog whose paw prints are written forever on our hearts.

Linking with Saturday's Critters

Ten Seconds

There will be plenty of people counting down the seconds to the new year tonight. 

Since I hope to be sound asleep by then, here's my own countdown a little early--

10 of my favorite animal sightings of 2016:

10. Fox Kit

Little Foxes

9. Wood Duck

Woody in the Tree

8. Eastern Chipmunk

Generation Z

7. White-tailed Fawn

Once in a Lifetime

6. Eastern Wild Turkey

Trapped

5. Raccoon

Co-inhabitants

4. Monarch Chrysalis

Morning Metamorphosis 

3.White-tailed Buck

Morning Fog

2. Male Cardinal

Mountain Lion Hollow

1. Golden Retriever, Barley

Co-inhabitants

Happy New Year!

Linking with Saturday's Critters