SPRING!

On March 31, 2011, 60 degrees happened for the first time this year. The daffodils are finally blooming as are the grape hyacinths. Roger mowed the deep, soggy lawn for the first time.    The rhubarb is leafing out and the roses and other perennials (the ones that made it through the winter) are developing buds. Moss is everywhere. It''s been too wet and cold to do any gardening, so the flower beds are looking quite ugly.

The rufous hummingbirds arrived March 5 and found the two feeders on the deck that had been there all winter for Anna's hummingbirds. (This is the first winter we've had Anna's.) Now there are least two pairs of the cute rufous birds zipping around all day. 

The northen pigmy owl was spotted on February 14. Usually we see them in November.

The passing of a princess

The downside of being a poodlemother is the grief I face when a poodlechild dies. It happened again October 14, 2010. Miss Nicole, our poodlechild #4, succumbed quickly to some dark ailment.. cancer? She joins those silver furry people who came before her, Jolie, Jacques and Michelle, in heavenly fields of tennis ball, purple ball and Frisbee games forever.

How do I cope with the demise of a dog? I write doggie odes, tributes to the furry friends I've known and loved.(Unfortunately I hadn't yet discovered the power of ode therapy with Jolie, Jacques and Michelle.) The first tribute was to Weaver Marshall in Bath Township, Ohio, beloved dog dude of Jack and Jackie Marshall. Then Penny Mast, fluffy and loved by all who knew her in Wadsworth, Ohio. Now Nicole.

Patrice is the surviving sibling of Nicole. They made up one fourth of an eight-puppy litter born to their mom, cream-colored Ariel of Ravingscrest and their dad, silver Pinafore's Spiffy in a Blacktie. Patrice was the Alpha and the biggest; Nicole was the smallest with the biggest attitude.

ODE TO NICOLE

(link below)

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B00Ih5E06Z-zNjFlYzVjMzItNmIyYi00Mzc2LWJiODYtNjZlOTJkMDQzZmUy&hl=en

Living at 1000 feet in the Oregon forest provides a big sky view with rainbows and an array of birds and wildlife. The rufous hummingbirds arrived in April. The black headed grosbeaks are singing their warbly songs all day. The violet-green swallows dip and dive at me and the dogs. The northern alligator lizzards zip in and out of the gardens and rocks. (so cute) The robins haul large worms out of the turf. You can almost hear them grunting! (One robin is the size of a small chicken! )


Yesterday I found a balled-up pile of shiny rope on the gravel drive in the sun. It didn't move. Its head and tail were indistinguishable. Sort of creepy. So I took a couple pictures and got into research mode. Sure enough I compared my photos to those on line: a Rubber Boa (Charina bottae) native of the Northwest. Burrows underground. Eats rodents and raids their nests.Viviparous. Moves slowly. Is nocturnal. So what was he doing in the drive at 2 PM? Getting warm? As long as he leaves the baby birds and northern alligator lizards alone, he's welcome.