Musings

I stepped out, headed for the beach, and saw this five steps away from the door. Wha? This dig-up is a new pattern, not quite chipmunk. [Much later in the day I saw a black squirrel, not seen in these parts for decades due to diligent hunting by our neighbor Hunter-Gatherer, who recently passed on…hence: population rebound. I suspect a black squirrel is the digger.]

Here are our current main crops, other than weeds haha. That’s a new rhubarb bed in the left foreground (sporting first-year growth), and a stately apple tree with many drops on the right-center. Spring and fall crops….

Down on the beach, I spotted this scalloped appearance from the wave pattern and the sorting of the different sized sand grains. I think I’ve seen it a few times before, but it’s rare.

Later…. The water barrel is full from rains in the days before we arrived, although we did have a few sprinkles late today. I thought I’d make a clever image with the reflections and the feather off on the left margin both in focus. I forgot it wasn’t possible haha. Anyway, the feather is proof that the barrel is a part-time birdbath.

Posted at 7:07 PM | Comments Off on Here/there

We arose in fog-world, aka Ann Arbor, on the SSW side. Commuter traffic is horrible and we took a chance and took Main Street north all the way through town, without any traffic problems…and bonus: we got to see the business district all quiet and misty-hazy.

Many miles later, we crossed the all-important bridge, still under overcast.

Happily, we made it safely to the cottage (with a brief span of sunshine), and found no evidence of critters visiting indoors in our absence. Yay.

Posted at 7:51 PM | Comments Off on All is well

We got on the road at a fine hour, and we had clear weather until we approached the greater Cincinnati area. Here’s the view of the city from Kentucky, the descent off the bluff on I-75. Having made this drive umpteen thousand times, I can testify that the vista varies; today, we saw the skyline through airborne precipitation.

This was on the north side of Cincinnati, where the suburbs sprawl and sprawl. I can’t remember ever seeing the safety folk split the traffic like this…and the traffic was heavy: rush hour. I think all the various Cincy slow-downs added nearly fifty minutes to our drive.

BTW, we just crossed into MI (so you know we made good progress), and I will post this from the right seat using the miracle of the personal hotspot on my phone.

Posted at 8:24 PM | Comments Off on Northbound

Here’s Sheepie. He smells change a’comin’.

Goat Guy came with a modest (yet sufficient) ration of treats, although the troops gathered just hearing his truck arrive. [The treats are in the white bag.]

Goat Guy said the first one to take is the most troublesome. This may be applicable in myriad other circumstances. The brown bill on the left was the first; multi was number two. Brown billy butted all the others as they arrived and generally caused mayhem (supporting Goat Guy’s assessment that he was the most troublesome)…

…until Sheepie arrived (last). Now, the fence and the water bucket…et cetera…are all transported to their next appointment, off Memorial Drive, we heard.

Posted at 7:19 PM | Comments Off on Exodus

This evening.

Goat day one (a little closer, but still).

Conclusion: plenty of processing by goat digestive systems.

Posted at 7:20 PM | Comments Off on Compare, contrast

The goat is chewing; the offset jaw is not some kind of damage. Goats do plenty of chewing.

Posted at 7:56 PM | Comments Off on Simple activities; repeat

Ivory Wee-Goat looks rather demented here, but is merely curious about me and my phone-camera poked in his face. In other news…

Earlier, I watched a different goat stand next to this fence and stretch his neck up, and I couldn’t figure out why. Then, I saw him extend his tongue and snag a fresh leaflet snagged on the fence-mesh and understood.

Posted at 8:39 PM | Comments Off on Gravity fed

Overwhelmingly, the troops act together, as befits carnivore targets. Of course, no stalking carnivores lurk in the immediate area.

Posted at 7:49 PM | Comments Off on Herd behavior

Here’s a goat picture, although the story of the day regarding The Troops was that Sheepie got tangled up, and we called the owner to free him, so that became a non-story. I was holding off on posting until the Sheepie story resolution, and plum forgot to tell the story. Now it’s a late-breaking story?

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Troop doin’s

The troops are very aware of us whenever we stand in the back windows, or pass by their fence going in or out.

Note the horizontal pupils….

Posted at 8:54 PM | Comments Off on Bezoar ibex descendant