A Cool Day

Its was a cool day outside, weather speaking and animal wise as well.
I was out on the deck with the tripod hoping to get some good pictures of the hummingbirds and maybe some video when somehow something on the roof caught my eye. It was most likely a weasel or a feret or something along those lines. Definatly not a flying squirrel as it was too big and the wrong size. Unfortunatly by the time i got the camera and tripod set in the right position and turned the camera back on i was notified that my battery was dead and also it was time for me to go into work. So no pictures of the animal.

But I did find a few different piles of fresh (at least from today) weasel scat.

According to my scats and tracks book you can tell its weasel scat because itsstriped like toothpaste. And well see for yourself.

 

 This is the area of the roof i saw it pop out of. There is a hole that was gnawed open almost near impossible to see it in the picture.

I am unsure if it is living in the roof or if it just found it way up there and is now devouring mice and any flying squirrels or other smaller animals living up there. Will be keeping an eye out for it for sure.

Here is one of the baby squirrels living in the tree nearest the deck. He poped his head out a few times today.

 A female Ruby Throated Hummingbird

 And the first few Milkweed Plants poping up

A few pics and shaky videos

Went out in the yard for a bit before D&D. Grabbed a few pics and two videos.

Here is a video of a Pileated Woodpecker on a powerline pole at the edge of the marsh.

A Black Capped Chickadee

Grey Cat Bird

 Video of the Grey Cat Bird

Cat Birds have the ability to mimic the calls of other birds. They nest in bushes and are called Cat Birds because of the meow and cat like cries they emit.


 Jack in the Pulpit (native plant)

 Columbine (native plant)

 

Calm after the storm: Pics of the sky

So its been rainy and storm. Tornadoes are apparently raging some sort of war on humanity or at least that is what the news media wants us to believe.

So here are some photos.

This is down by the marsh. I think a long time ago they intended to make this into some sortof dock like platform but since ive lived here its just been these posts. The water level in the marsh is the highest ever. The bottom set of  wood posts are covered with water.

I realized yesterday i messed up an ID. This is a picture of Waterleaf.(im pretty sure this time)

 Azaleas (ornamental perennials) in bloom

 Some pretty sky pictures

 Im sure this is a Turkey Vulture

More pictures of the sky

 Pretty Bunny

 Green Heron

Ticks

A few weeks ago it was thick with ticks out in the yard. I would pick off 5 or 6 in the time i took me to smoke a cigarette. Then it cooled off and was wet and they had seemed to have dissapated. And the last two days I had only found a few ticks on my clothes so it wasent a big deal.

Well now im a little worried.

I just found 2 ticks on me. Both had biten me. Im not very good at ID'ing things.

The first tick I found was attached to my bicep. Obviously had only been there for a few hours or less. I am pretty sure its just your average wood wick but.... I dont know. Even if it is a deer tick apparently it takes 24 hours for the tick to be attached for the bacteria that causes Lyme's Disease to be transferred.
I put him in a nyquil cough syrup cup to give you an idea how big it is.

The second tick however, is what worries me. Its tiny. I actually thought it was just a new freckle. (i seem to get new freckles/moles almost daily). But then I realized it wasent a freckle.

Yes, that little black dot on the q-tip is a tick.

I have no idea what kind of tick it is. All i know is it was more difficult to get off than the bigger tick. And there is an obvious sign of irritation to the area. I dont have a picture of the bite because its in a location i would rather not be sharing with the world.

I guess my only option is to wait. See if anything changes by Monday and go to the doctor.

And as I was typing this post, I found a 3rd tick.

Im guessing the wildflowers I brought in to ID brought little friends.....

The Garden

So I finally got around to planting some things. I put in 7 mounds of potatos this week. Which is half as many as i did last year. I went and bought some tomato plants and an Eggplant and put them in the ground today. I pulled up the last of the parsnips and they are being cooked on the grill as I am typing this. I also started hoeing and raking out the terrace beds. I think I may just grow Acorn Squash in the terrace this year. I need to get the trellis netting up for the cucumbers before I can plant the seedlings. I plan on putting some beets in the ground in the next few days.

I am dissapointed I dont have as much time to grow as much veggies as I did last year. But with the spring being as slow as its been I may somehow find time to put more seeds in the ground than I am anticipating right now.

Had a fun day hauling woodchips and digging in the dirt even in the light rain we have been having.

Other than that nothing stands out as being note worthy animal wise today.

A Good Day Part III: Peter Rabbit had a kid

Ok i cant say for certain the genetic relation of this baby bunny freshly kicked out of the warren and into the world. But it sure looks like Mr. Pater Rabbit from last year. Except this lil guy is a bit more skidish than Mr. Peter Rabbit was.

The Plum Trees in bloom.

The marsh

one of my veggie beds. The bird house last two summers was used by a Wren. this year the Chickedee's have moved in.

I found some lettuce popping up from seeds that dropped last summer.

The yard.