squirmy wormies

It's prime season for insects!  It's been too hot (and I've been too busy) to get out with my camera much, but I've seen some great specimens close to home.

soldier beetle...a great pollinator!

scorpionfly...this is a female and she doesn't have the cool scorpion tail that males have!

big group of aphids on the milkweed!

sweat bees

honey bees...look at those beautiful wings!

We have a new resident on the front porch.

chinese mantis

He's getting bigger and bigger...

...molting regularly.

There are plenty of moths around our porch lights to feed an army of mantises, so he's picked a good place to hang out!

It's not too late in the season for baby birds...

red-winged blackbird babies in our front pond

...and new flowers are blooming, like this milkweed.

Lots came up in the garden this year and I love it!

In the woods, blackberries are ripening...

...and woodland hydrangeas are starting to flower.

We're mostly INSIDE, though, with these lazy cats.

Barnabas

Frances

Pepita is doing really well with cat introductions.

All the cats are making an effort...even Calliope!

Pepita is having some adventures...

daily pond walks

fierce feats of strength

intense Daddy snuggles

...but she's spending a lot of time like this, unfortunately:

The vet couldn't fit her in for almost three weeks after the adoption, and when they finally saw her, they determined that she was crawling with parasites (despite frequent wormings).  Right now, she has giardia and hookworm.  Because she'd just had a flea treatment, we can't even give her the hookworm medicine for another week.  She's getting two doses of antibiotics daily for the giardia, but reinfection is SO easy.  I have to bleach her crate daily.  Water and food dishes have to be treated with boiling water daily.  Her bedding (including car blanket) has to be washed every other day, and so do all of her toys.  The floors have to be mopped daily and the carpets have to be vacuumed.  When she goes potty, we have to pick up everything and treat the location with diatomaceous earth (to kill the hookworms/giardia parasites that would otherwise worm their way into the soil and instantly reinfect her).  We have to wash our hands CONSTANTLY, because humans can catch giardia (although it's unlikely).  In short, everything has to be spotlessly clean and she cannot go around other dogs, because she'd infect them. 

We had to reschedule her puppy class and we're sad that we can't do our planned socialization around town.  Hopefully she'll get a clean bill of health at her next vet visit in two weeks, because I've read horror stories about puppies having giardia for MONTHS and needing constant antibiotics (and constant cleaning to prevent reinfection).  It's daunting but we're really hoping for the best.  The good news is that she's cheerful and active and shows no signs of being infected...that's a good sign!  We really want to expand her house boundaries but every room she goes into has to be deep-cleaned daily, so she's going to have to wait for the vet's go-ahead.  

Thankfully, giardia transmission from dogs to cats is rare.

Off to do MORE cleaning before work.  Have a great week!  

cat coup d'etat

 We've had some frost...

...but it's mostly been cool and rainy.  Some normal warmer-weather activity has been happening.  Mowing the back field...

...and cleaning out the gutters.

We thought that Claudia would be really excited to leave the barn in the spring, and she has gone outside...with some encouragement.

To our surprise, though, this formerly-feral cat who protested every time we tried to bring her into the warm barn during freezing temps does NOT want to be outside...at all.  On really warm days when we put her out, she mostly sits on the barn doorstep and waits for Todd to open the door, hoping to slip inside unseen.

When inside, she's either sleeping or sitting next to Todd on the couch, begging for attention.  She's basically taken over!

From what I've read, she's probably feeling vulnerable because she's compromised in hearing, sight, or both.  She doesn't move very quickly, and she'd probably be easy pickings for a coyote...or a stray.  For now, we're going to keep her in the barn nights, but still encourage her to go out during the day to get fresh air and a little stimulation.  Hopefully this compromise works!  

The spring ephemerals are popping!

dutchman's breeches

cutleaf toothwort

putty root orchid

Spicebush trees are budding out...

...and the redbuds are fully popped!

his expression after zinged with a particularly funny insult - all in good fun!

Red-winged blackbirds are everywhere.  

I've also heard meadowlarks, cowbirds, robins, bluebirds, jays...so many different birds!  More bulbs are coming up...

hyacinths

scillas

...and seedlings are starting to press against the lids of the greenhouses.

I'll have to take the lids off tomorrow, after the worst of the rain is over...but the lids need to be replaced (or most likely, a tarp used) to protect them from the frost that's coming in a few days.  As soon as those roots hit the bottom of the "greenhouse," they'll be ready to pop into the garden!  Not that the garden is ready...I haven't touched it since late summer.  But I will baby-step my way through it this year.

Speaking of gardening, my sweet peas germinated nicely in my dark, chilly attic.  Now they're out under lights.  Ready to go in the ground in a couple of weeks!

We're seeing more new life on our trail cams...this heron caught a bluegill!

We've got quite a herd of deer coming from the forest into our fields every evening, too.  They're still shaggy with their winter coats!

Coyotes, rabbits, possums, squirrels, raccoons, geese, and skunks are still making regular appearances as well.  No babies yet but I'm watching closely.

Have a great week!  

hollows for swallows

The daily rain stopped and the sun finally came out.

The heat has been pretty unrelenting and has sapped my energy, but I have to keep moving.  Big changes here!  The back of our house (dining room and two covered porches) has been completely torn off. 

Everything that was in the dining room is now cluttering the kitchen and living room, and I'm forever wiping drywall dust from countertops and floors.  It's a cacophony of hammering, drilling, and banging doors all day long.  And it's not limited to the house...Todd and I spent hours pulling the tack room down in the barn this week.

We probably have another month of construction between the two spaces...phew!  At least we had some company in the barn.  A pair of nesting barn swallows watched us work.  Since the entire barn will be cleaned, insulated, and enclosed, I am sincerely hoping those babies have already hatched.  The nest would be nearly impossible to relocate. 

A black snake, too, has taken up residence.  They're great at keeping down the rodent population, but poor Todd!

Watching the birds at the feeders is a nice pleasure...

...and I still get a good scolding if I venture down to the pond.

It's worth it, though, to see what's going on there!

I'm very slowly getting my office put together.  At least my desk is up.  I get about 1/3 of the space...the cats seem to get the rest.

I keep a pair of binoculars next to my computer so I can see into the barnyard.  Just in the past week I've seen deer, wild rabbits, a woodchuck, and even a pair of turkeys!

The rain has been great for tracking wildlife in mud outside, too.

Mostly, though, I try to follow the cats' example and rest when I can.

Have a great week!