outside stuff & animal problems

Last year, I had the crazy idea that if I took apart the panels on the dog's pen, I could enlarge his lockdown area by connecting the panels to the end of ramp and the side of the porch steps. It worked great for several months. Then we had a young man from church come over and help out with some yardwork. Buster could not stand it that Bobby and someone else were within his sight, and he couldn't be there. So this is what he did:

 He chewed off the lattice work under bobby's ramp. In the beginning, it looked more like one of those cartoon things where a person bursts through the wall, but he's chewed off most of the edged corners. I was thinking I would replace that panel this year, but he and Little Dog use that as a shortcut and an area for playing, so I've just left it. It also meant his 10x20 play area when he's locked up got reduced back to 10x10.

I was pleased with how plants we've planted, both around the house and in the garden, were blooming.

And then this weekend the chickens figured out a way to get over the fence. They've scratched up the one half row of spinach I had (which would have been ready in a week or two), and pulled up about four pea plants. Then Bobby spotted Peter Rabbit from last year (just a whole lot bigger) heading towards the garden. I'm hoping he's grown enough he won't make it through the fence this year, but Bobby says he'll just tunnel under. I hope not. I'm starting to think it's just not meant for me to have a garden.

habitats

A few weeks ago Bobby told me he saw an eagle. I missed it, but did see the shadow on the ground as it flew overhead. This morning I got a glimpse of it. It soared like the hawks that frequently hover, but it also dove into the pond. I've never seen a hawk do that. Grabbing the binoculars, I was even more baffled. Its feathers were mottled (a mixture of brown and white), but but the center of its head was white - like a mohawk. The rest of its face was brown, like a golden eagle, but it clearly had the short, hook nose. Its tail, in flight, showed stripes, but when perched on the tree appeared to be a solid dark color. I'm not sure but the underbelly was also lighter colored, like that of a hawk.

I spent some time reading this morning on wikipedia about birds in North Carolina. I don't know if golden eagles and bald eagles mix breed or not, but at this point we're leaning more towards a young bald eagle.

The last five years we have seen more wildlife than I have ever seen in my life. I've seen numerous foxes, a few coyote, wild rabbits, herds of deer, hawks, blue herons, beavers, o'possums, raccoons, a river otter (we think...could have been a mink), a groundhog (at church in the parking lot this past Sunday!), and now maybe an eagle. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with living near a pond, and some has to do with all the wooded areas nearby slowly being developed, but it can be a bit unnerving. The first time I saw a fox, I wasn't sure what I was seeing. My brain was processing details so fast it wasn't funny - cat ears, cat stance, dog size, bushy tail, funny legs/paws - can it be? Am I see a fox? It was very weird and strange. And they move so fast, that once they're gone you sit there thinking "Did I really see that?"

There are times that I really hate having a pond at our house. It brings a lot of visitors, both human and wild, and takes a little extra work to maintain. But I have absolutely loved seeing the wildlife, even when it scares me a little.

the runaway bunny

Once there were two rabbits who lived in a cage.
Once a week they got to visit the great outdoors for exercise.
But one Saturday they decided not to return to their place of living. Every time the big bad human moved to catch them, they hopped. Fast. The big bad human would sit very still, tempting them closer. They would come, put their front paws on her jeans, then before she could blink, they would flip 180 and hop away. They spent the night in the big outside world. And the next morning, there was only one rabbit.
The big bad humans surmised that poor little Sally must have been eaten by an owl. There were no holes that she could have crawled out of, and there were no signs of a struggle. It had to have been a bird that swooped down in the night and took her away.
Sunday went by, then Monday.
On Tuesday morning, this what the big bad human saw:

Sally has hopped in the garage. She's hopped up and down the front ramp to the porch. She's hopping all over the front yard. But she will not hop back into her cage.
She is a runaway bunny. :(
Meanwhile, poor little Thumper sits all alone.

a holiday wrap-up

the finished project (my birthday puzzle)

and the cool non-straight borders :)

We got a new surprise this weekend! One of our youngest hens laid an egg! She wasn't supposed to start laying until spring, so we were quite surprised! (it's the tiny one on the left).  Can't wait to see if she lays any more!

Sally and Thumper

We took advantage of the warm weather and put the rabbits out for some exercise. The chickens were most curious, and at one point we had almost all the birds around the old dog pen checking out the new animals.

Thumper taking in all the smells and sounds.