This patch of ice caught my eye, looking like a buffalo head, or an alien, or vaguely like a longhorn steers’ head and horns if you are a previouslytexan.
Month: January 2014
Winter thaw 2
During a winter thaw, a lot of water and ice collect in the fields. The snowmelt from the past two weeks’ snowfall plus the ~15mm of rain that fell is a lot of water to get rid of, it’s too cold to evaporate quickly, and our flat topography is not conducive to quick runoff.
Bald eagle nest
The bundle of sticks in this tree is the bald eagle next we took a drive yesterday to find searched. It appears to be about a meter wide and deep. I took this photo from about 150-200 meters away. We could not get too close because that entailed crossing private property, which we did not have permission to do.
My understanding is that once a nest is built, the nesting pair return year after year, adding materials to the nest, so they can become quite large and heavy.
Bald eagles are semi-nomadic in the winter, moving around as food availability dictates. I understand that they prefer fish yet will eat meat, carrion, etc. We hope that the eagles return. If they do I will try to get a decent photo and blog it.
Mid-winter thaw
The weather has moderated significantly in the last few days. After the severe cold – down to minus 24C or minus 11F – several inches of snow, and gale force winds, this weekend has brought above freezing temperatures and several millimeters of rain. Much of the snow is gone, at least for now. Snowmobiles are gone (hooray for that), some parts of the river have open water. While winter is far from over we revel in the relatively balmy conditions.
Watching
We decided to take a drive and spot a bald eagle nest. The dogs wanted to come, but this drive was for us.
Kendal, aka Dr. K
I can’t get the damn photos I took with my phone at the vet to load.
Kendal is back to his normal, friendly, counter surfing self. The vet took a pee sample. While the protein level is a bit elevated it has dropped significantly from where it was when Kendal was sickest. We await the blood sample serology to confirm (or not) the lepto diagnosis. In the meantime we continue the doxycycline regime for another eight or so days.
It is very good to have Kendal back.
Achilles
I have owned Achilles for almost eight years and am still astounded by how he came to me. A friend involved in Labrador Retriever rescue told me about a dog at a shelter she pulled dogs from. He was typed as an Australian Cattle Dog mix and knowing that I had ACDx Stella, she thought I might want to foster him.
He was picked up as a stray and his people never came for him. By the time I took him home he had been at the shelter for 363 days and probably running out of time.
Achilles is wonderful with people, which is atypical for ACDs and very easy on leash. He is undemanding, very low maintenance. He walks and trots smoothly, almost languidly. Chili runs with a fluid grace, he seems to float. His one quirk is an utter refusal to get wet. The shelter estimated his age to be six though I find it very hard to believe he would now be 13 or 14. It amazes me that he languished in the shelter for so long, almost as though fate designated him to be my, our, dog.
I am, we are, very, very blessed to have him.
Kendal at the vet
Taken with my windows phone. Kendal is fine. Waiting for the vet to return.to the exam room.
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Photo taken through the window. Predators have to eat as well as songbirds, and feeding songbirds means that I will feed a hawk from time to time.
Best friends
Kendal and his best friend, the wall furnace (behind his head), which is cycling on about every eight minutes.
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