The Animals Are Just Getting Warmed Up


Nature is coming alive out here on the property as the temperatures warm up. We can look out any window at any given moment and find some kind of wildlife. The puppies are especially suspicious of the shifty squirrels digging in their yard.


This spring, for the first time, we have two pairs of pied-billed grebes. They're small diving ducks that are amazing to watch - they'll flip over and completely submerge themselves to find food under the water. They're very small ducks, and we're on the lookout for their platform nests.


We also have very skittish turtles. It's very difficult to take their picture because they can see and hear everything. We have a great log that reaches from the bank of the small pond several feet into the water, and they line up on it every afternoon to sunbathe.


There is always a collection of beavers, muskrats, otters and other furry creatures around the ponds, too. The beavers we're not too fond of because they're cutting down our trees at a rapid rate, and the otters will eat all our fish. And for some reason Danny won't let me keep baby otters in the bathtub so I can love on them. Weird.


By far my favorite wildlife on the property right now are the herons. Their colors and plumes are breath-taking, and it's fun to watch them fishing in the shallow end of the big pond. We've always said we don't really need television - we can just look out the window and see who's come to visit today.

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