Log Ness Turtle

Like Bessie at Loch Ness, getting a clear photo of the turtle in our pond just doesn’t happen.

I just can’t get close enough to get a good picture before the turtle sees me and dives under.  At best, there’s just a nose and the top most part of the shell showing when the turtle comes up for air.  A lot of the time, all you can see is the tip of his nose.

In view of that (pun intended), I told The Farmer what this poor deprived turtle needed was a log to sun on.  After all, it must get pretty tired paddling away while getting a breath of fresh air, right?  (Of course, no mention was made of my ulterior motive of being able to get a better picture of a turtle on a log as compared to one mostly submerged.  )

The Farmer readily agreed, though I suspect he knew both my motives for the idea of a floating log in the pond.  However, since he had all that wood from the big tree limbs that fell on the house, he decided he’d take up the challenge and yes, put a log in the pond.  For the turtle, of course.

Being a most excellent MacGyver sorta clone, he knew if he just threw the log in the pond, the wind would have it swept up against the banks most of the time.  What I… uh, the turtle… needed was the log staying out more towards the middle of the pond.

Farmer MacGyver had a plan.

It required a couple of posts and some slender waterproof rope.

He pounded a stake in the bank on one side of the pond, then tied one end of the rope to the stake, and another part of the rope around the log.

Then he threw the log in the water.

Once he had it in the water, he adjusted the bright orange rope around the log in what he considered the best position.

It was getting a little warm, so The Farmer took off his vest, and walked around to the opposite side of the pond.  He pounded in another stake and tied the other end of the rope to it.

Once he did that, he went back around to the other side and made some final adjustments.

And there it is, a nice log floating in the pond, holding serenely in one place.

Now, if only that turtle would crawl up there sometime to enjoy the sunshine while I’m out there with a camera in my hand!

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P.S. I went out to the mailbox after I finished this post, and guess what I saw?  Yep, a turtle trying to crawl up on the log.  Only it wasn’t the big turtle we’ve been seeing, it was a much smaller one!

We have not one, but TWO turtles! Or maybe I should say, at least two turtles, cause for all I know there might be more.   There’s the big one we’ve been seeing, and you can see that one’s head in the lower part of the picture, a little to the right of center.  And now the little one trying to get up on that big log.

Turtley Awesome!

The Hummers Are Here

I love to watch hummingbirds.  It’s always a thrill when I see the first one in the spring.  I can’t remember when I first saw one this year and got the feeder hung up, but they’ve been here at least a couple of weeks. 

I just happened to be fairly closeby with a camera when I saw one visiting the honeysuckle nectar bar.

And here’s a little closer shot…

It’s one of my ambitions to someday get a really nice, sharp clear picture of a hummingbird.

But for now it’s just nice to see them flitting about.

Woody Woodpecker

We have Woody Woodpecker living around here somewhere, because we saw him yesterday. 

Well, actually, I think it was a her, because I didn’t see any red patch at the base of the bill like males are supposed to have. 

A birdwatcher friend told me years ago Pileated Woodpeckers were rare.  Turns out he meant rarely SEEN.  It seems they’re a pretty shy bird, and although one might be living close by, you don’t see them very often.

Unfortunately, I only got the one picture before the bird flew again.  I had an attack of Oldtimer’s Disease, and instead of trying to get some pictures through the big window in our dining room, I stepped outside on the front porch.  Thus I only got one shot before the bird got spooked and flew away.  (Yeah, yeah, I know, STUPID!) 

Of course now I’m going to be bummed until such time as I’m fortunate enough to see one of these birds again and get more pictures!  Since they are permanent residents, maybe I’ll get lucky and see another one around here some day.

I sure hope so.  That’s one big bird with a really cool topknot.  It would make for some seriously awesome pictures!

Cat Food Buffet

We have a cat called Spot Fencewalker.

Every morning I feed him. His cat food dispenser sits on the front porch right by the door. I used to just fill it up so he could eat however much he wanted whenever he wanted. But then the neighbor’s dog started coming over and eating the cat food.  If one of our dogs got out in the front yard, they snacked on it too. So do a multitude of stray cats!

And then the raccoons started showing up at night, helping themselves to the cat’s food.

While a nuisance, at least the raccoons were kind of cute.

But then last night when I opened the door, I realized things are getting way out of hand and the cat food buffet is feeding more wildlife than I imagined!

Sorry, but I find absolutely nothing cute about slugs, although  I guess while the slugs are munching up on cat food, they aren’t eating my hostas. But I really don’t want to feed them. And I don’t want to feed the cave crickets. And I don’t want to feed the little pillbugs or whatever you want to call them either (look at the back left of cat food container).

And what’s not in the picture is the horde of little black crickets that jumped away the minute I opened the door.  And who knows what else when I’m not looking!

I’ve got to come up with an innovative way to feed the cat that keeps other critters from helping themselves.

This cat food buffet has gotten totally out of hand.