One Day Later

    The sorrow at losing Auntie Goose to a coyote has been greatly eased by the other two geese carrying on stoically.  This is a huge relief.  Many years ago when we had only two geese, one of them suddenly died.  The other one grieved for days and his crying for his mate was heartrending.  This time, the other two seem a little quieter than usual, but that's about it.  Today, when I got home, a small flock of Canada geese had flown in and were hanging out with our remaining Auntie Goose and Methuselah, the old gander.  Usually I'm irritated when the Canadas come because they poop all over the place and eat prodigious amounts of grain.  But today I was glad that they'd come to hang out at Frogpond. 

 

    Yesterday was a work at home sort of Sunday.  Bruce and Murphy took a huge trailer-load of several weeks worth garbage to the Milton landfill.  Does this look like four week's worth of trash?  It was a relief to get the stuff off the place. 





Murphy was ecstatic to come along.  He LOVES going to the dump with his dad.





Once again, Murphy was hoping to drive.  Bruce also likes to drive, so Murphy was (thankfully) out-voted. 

Sunday was also barn-cleaning day.  All the junk that you see in the background of this picture is stuff from the stalls that was hauled out and hosed off.  Things had gotten pretty filthy in there and it was high time that the place got a much-needed (and very belated) spring cleaning.

Off they went: a very happy Bear and his dog.  I stayed home and did schoolwork (I'd rather have been at the dump!)



From this...



 When they got back, we got to work on the barn.  It took most of of the afternoon, but we managed to get everything cleaned, sorted and back into the barn.

                                                                                

 

...to this.



 

    The best part of the day was when I accidentally squirted one of the fluorescent lights above the barn walkway and this rudely awakened Pallid Bat poked its nose out.  I brought out Bruce's fancy camera and he took this amazing photograph.  Look at that little face!  The pointy teeth are adorable, but it's the ridges fanning out in those huge Dumbo ears that really get me. Also captivating are the claws so delicately gripping the edge of the light fixture.  And who wouldn't fall in love with those sweet, piggy nostrils?  And look at the huge dark eyes -- quite remarkable for a bat (doesn't his face seem asymmetrical?  His mouth and teeth don't line up with his nose).  Did you know that bats yawned?  This little guy did -- the cutest, sleepiest, I'm-awake-in-the-daytime sort of yawn.  He stayed and glared at us for a few minutes before scootching out from the light and flitting off towards the trees in disgust...

As I write this, it's a little after nine at night and a coyote just started howling and yipping on the hill above the pond.  The dogs are barking like crazy and Bruce just went out with his gun.

Frogpond is a complicated place.