I did a little yard clean up last evening and am covered with mosquito bites from the waist down. The itching is miserable. How the heck do they get into my clothes!
We caged the climbing rose with three foot high hardware cloth before leaving last fall so fortunately only the tops of the limbs were nipped off. Probably rabbit damage. The old rose bush that's been here for years was trimmed down to about three foot lengths and the raspberries were almost wiped out, too, so there will be another season without berries. A fencer is coming by next week to see about moose-proofing the yard.
We need to keep the dogs on the property, too, because some old codger in the neighborhood is into shooting loose dogs. There is still an uproar over one he shot last month that had been trained as a cadaver dog -- one test left for certification. The old guy said the dog threatened him while it had a hare in its mouth. Right. And there is no one here who would mourn the loss of a hare after all the damage they've done the last two winters. Oh well. I will be happy to get a fence, whatever the reason. It will keep out moose and gun-happy grouchy old codgers, too.
A few pheasants survived the harsh winter. I hear the raspy screech of one as he makes his morning rounds. The Sandhill cranes got in a few days before us. They congregate on the beach in the evening, legs dangling like marionettes as they float down on outstretched wings. The crows saw Tag and went nuts. I guess they have good memories. It started with one crow fixating on him last spring and spread to all the local crows before end of summer so that the whole flock would go nuts when they saw him. Just Tag, not the other dogs. Funny.
Here is a view of the Spit at low tide this morning. We were greeted with great weather when we got to Homer, but the report shows a stretch of rain on the way soon.
Our moose. Check the nubbins on this guy's head (enlarge the photo with a click). It's hard to imagine how fast they will grow into a huge rack. He's giving me a wary eye, not at all happy having us around to complicate life.
The cow didn't even twitch her ears when I snapped her picture. Fish and Game says the cows will probably abort their fetuses this year due to severe dietary stress. This one doesn't look too bad. Will the moose hunt will be closed this fall to allow the population to recover?
