The Week in Review

1/27/18 Saturday

Had a little visit with Callie, the puppy someone dumped out in 9° weather. She is loving her forever home with our friends and growing like a weed. 

A friend of ours has all kinds of fun things in his garage. I kind of enjoyed this raccoon drinking a diet coke.

I didn't take a picture of it, but CD bought a 9 mm pistol for me. He worries about me being out in the middle of nowhere alone and walking back in the woods where there are lots of unfriendly critters: coyotes, rattlesnakes, feral hogs, etc. Since it has been ages since I actually fired a gun, a friend of ours gave me shooting lessons. I surprised myself by actually hitting the target. Personally, I would prefer a 22 with snake shot, but I guess that might not work if a hog is charging.


1/28/18 Sunday

Went for a walk to the back pond. 

Gus had fun running.

Later, we went to a friend's house to help put up a fence for some mules he bought. They are to be delivered Tuesday. We had a lot of help from Sleepy. He wanted to drive the tractor.

1/29/18 Monday

Enjoyed reading on the porch today. This meadowlark didn't seem to mind my presence.

Mr. Red-Shouldered Hawk was lurking in a cedar tree. He finally found a tasty snack.

1/30/18 Tuesday

A day filled with errands and chores ended with a fairly decent shot of a blue heron I've been chasing with my camera. I drove slowly up to the pond where I usually see him. I glanced around and decided he wasn't there. But then I saw him. Seems he was pretending to be one of the many weeds along the shoreline. Our eyes locked and he took off. If you enlarge the picture and look really close you can see him flying away in this first shot.

To my surprise, he didn't go too far. He landed in a tree on the opposite side of the pond. 

And then turned around and posed. Nice heron. I thanked him before I drove off.

1/31/18 Wednesday

I have been looking forward to today since I heard our friend had bought a couple of mules. I made sure my camera battery was charged up and rode over as soon as we heard the mules were on their way. Oh the excitement! Here they come.



Unloaded and ready to see their new home. They have not been named yet. 

This is a Molly mule (female). 

This is a John mule (male).

Bo, Little Bill, Sleepy, and Dylan were very curious about the new kids on the block. There was a lot of snorting and whinnying going on.

Sleepy was pawing the ground and trying to check out the John Mule. Not sure if she was being friendly or laying out the rules.

On my way home, I happened to see a tree full of little black birds. They were quite a ways off the road, but thought I would at least try to identify them. Not too bad for as far away as they were. According to my Merlin Bird ID App, it is a Brewer's Blackbird. The app says it is uncommon to this area, but my National Geographic Field Guide says this is a winter range. It is a new bird for me, so I was very excited.

2/1/18 Thursday

Today we had to get up early to go to Shawnee, OK. DC had an appointment. 

After I turned on the TV I realized I forgot the super moon, so went outside and took a picture of what was left of the moon.

And then took a picture of the morning sky.

DC's test went well. Afterward we had lunch at Whataburger and then came home to a happy Gus.


2/2/18 Friday

The horses got new shoes today.

While the guys were at work, I took a drive over to Lula Cemetery where I heard a bald eagle was seen. I also thought about trying to find the grave of a recently identified military man killed at Pearl Harbor. He was buried in Lula Cemetery last fall. The wind was chilly, so I decided that would be an adventure for another day.

I didn't see any evidence of eagles, but I did see two doe running at high speed. I was only able to capture the last one as she leaped over the fence.

Today was an eagle day. I saw several. This is the best capture.

I also saw several American Kestrels. 

Other birds my camera wasn't quick enough to capture: cardinals, blue jays, Bluebirds, varieties of sparrows, meadowlarks, and a morning dove or two. 

That's it for this week. 

Linking to Saturday Critters

Linking to The Bird D-Pot