The first thing I saw when I looked out the window this morning was a blaze of pink blossoms from the second perennial hibiscus, which has opened.
The horses grazing are also a beautiful sight, and I never get tired of it. Note the cowbirds attending Bart.
In the barn, Cedar was intimidated by the cats, who decided her scatter was more delicious than their food in bowls (it’s the same food). So I had to give her another scatter.
There is some irony in Cedar’s deference to cats. Cedar came from Stray Rescue. A city street dog, she raised her seven pups under the auspices of Stray Rescue. They were adopted before we met Cedar, but a while later, one of them was returned, and we agreed to adopt him. We called him Cal, and he was a lovely dog, but he killed our beloved house cat, D. Claudia, so we returned him to Stray Rescue. The emotional trauma of that day is beyond my ability to tell.
Cal has since found a cat free home. Cedar never actually gave any indication that she recognized him, but all the dogs were appalled when he killed Claudia. We don’t think he understood what a mortal sin he had committed. The other dogs did.
Cedar, though, is a stone killer of varmints. We have seen her murder a raccoon, and she famously jumped through the screen of our bedroom to get raccoons in a tree outside (falling twelve feet to the ground). Nonetheless, she surely knows that cats have diplomatic immunity.
The ill fated D. Claudia
I decided to give myself a rest from riding today, trying to get back to full strength again. Besides, it was hot and humid and gloomy.
Before I could bring the horses in, I had to relocate this little toad, who spent the night eating delicious flies in Stone’s stall.
When I relocated him, he became almost invisible.
It was a big day for amphibians. I picked up a bag of mulch in the shed, and there must have been ten little baby skinks underneath! Bluetails! They scampered away to cover, but one went across the floor and I was able to get a picture. They were very tiny – maybe two inches long, counting the tail, none of which were lost, thank goodness. The stem cell clinic that fixed my shoulder earlier this year is called Bluetail, and has a logo very like this little guy. Because skinks grow their tails back by virtue of stem cells, of course!
I puttered in the garden a bit. After lunch, the skies got dark and a big storm blew in, dumping half an inch of rain in about fifteen minutes. So much for the dry ground. It was welcome moisture, though could have come down a bit more gently!
On the front porch
I finished the south wall of the studio. My camera photo makes things look sort of askew, but in real life the pictures look straight. Really. The project continues…
I don’t like pictures of myself, but Harry took this one when I was sprawled on the couch this evening with Weedy and Mistletoe. He insists that I should put it in the blog…
Stay safe, stay well, wear a mask, wash your hands, and social distance.
I think, as you get older, the view looking backward is so much fuller than the one ahead. This blog reminds me how much there is to see and love looking ahead and around each day. Thanks for that. And thanks too for making my studio a MUCH nicer place to walk into each morning.
Dear Anne, I am still enjoying your blog every day. Your looking around, noticing and naming, stirs memories and inspires good thoughts. Thank your Harry for insisting you share his picture of you. It is a good one. Peace, L
Thank you, Linda. It means so much to me that you enjoy the blog. I feel very awkward about it sometimes. I love Borrowed Horsemanship, by the way!
For years I thought Blue Tail Skinks were a specific species. I never liked the big brown striped ones which can bite like hell. Within the last 10 years I learned of course they are one in the same, difference between juvenile and adult.
Your pictures show an awareness that most people seem to have filtered out over their years.
You might have been the one who taught me that the Bluetails are juveniles. Or maybe Missouri Conservationist magazine…
I did not know that the brown ones bite!
I admit I am a bit filtered when it comes to skinks, for a sec I thought it was a scientific name for baby skunks! Always learning from Anne, I, too, enjoy these blogs, and as with Harry, see more to the future, our horses tomorrow, our walks with our dogs tomorrow, nature thrives no matter what it seems, all good. The studio looks great!
I like the COVID hair style… you are probably sweltering with it… but its a cute change… a glimpse into the distant past.
I am missing Rainy…who seems to have BEEFED up …what a chunk!!
I miss Rainy, too! Nancy and Steve are in the wilderness. Pictures will resume when they return, I hope!