If it moves, she’ll stalk it. She’s got very keen eyesight and a sharp nose, too. She’s also got determination, leaning toward compulsiveness and/or obsession.
On a recent trip to the WV Place, K spent a total of about 10-12 HOURS in one day hunting lizards in our woodpile.
Before the woodpile, she was chasing the critters around some cinder blocks.
There are quite a few lizards in our yard. West Virginia only has six different species of lizards, and we saw at least three different species that weekend.
Eastern Fence Lizard
From what I observed, she could see and hear the lizards, but she couldn’t smell them. And, because they are very fast, she had a hard time catching them. In fact, I think it is safe to say that K isn’t a very good lizard hunter.
Determined, yes. Successful, no.
Not such a great lizard hunter.
I couldn’t help but laugh at her. At THEM, actually. Belle would offer help every now and then, but she’s no better at catching lizards.
“Can you see me now?” says the lizard as he laughs under his breath.
They did manage to rout out, and try to kill, this cute little skink, which Hubby rescued.
Five-lined Skink (aka Blue-tailed Skink)
Meg, who isn’t really into hunting, could not have cared less.
Meg
Belle helped on occasion, but quickly lost interest.
K NEVER lost interest.
By the end of the weekend, K was so exhausted, she could barely stand. Which I guess is the reason she walked right past this lizard near the front porch.
Eastern Six-lined Racerunner
Dogs are a never-ending source of entertainment. Our lives would be so dull without them around.
If you read my last post, you know I went to WV last weekend for a meet-up with my friend Fuzzy and her husband, Kenny.
Oddly enough, Mike had already planned on driving out there on Saturday with his truck to retrieve our loveseat, which we gave to his Mom. He said he could wrestle it into the truck himself. But since I was going to be there for a bit, he timed his arrival so that I could help him get it into the truck. But I’m getting ahead of myself…
When I first learned of Fuzzy’s (aka Rachael) visit, I figured I’d just ride out for the day. But then I realized that would have made for a LONG day. So I decided to have a little adventure and ride out on Friday night.
If you’re not a regular here, you may not know that we had a pipe freeze at the WV Place over the Winter. It made a mess, which we cleaned up. But the repair work couldn’t begin until after the place was thoroughly dried out. (The building of our WV Place is chronicled here, if you’re interested.)
Part of the clean-up process involved moving a bunch of stuff from the master bedroom, kitchen, and living room to the back bedrooms to get it out of the way of the workmen.
This is what the bedrooms looked like when I arrived.
Rustic Accommodations
I knew that’s how we’d left them, but I’m a low-maintenance kinda girl and didn’t mind.
I just had to move some stuff out of the way and all was good.
While I waited for Rachael to call, I moseyed around the place and took some pictures.
Happy to see the place still standing.
Thermometer Has Seen Better Days
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Deer Leg in Tree (out of dogs’ reach)
Dogwood with Blue-sky Backdrop
Cute Bird
As I was getting ready for bed on Friday night, I noticed this…
My First Quilt
That’s my very first quilt. A hand-tied lap throw.
All was fine on Friday evening.Sorry if you were expecting a horror story.
Saturday morning, Hubby arrived at about 7:30 with breakfast. He said he’d seen Rachel and Kenny on the way past there motel, but hadn’t stopped. I told him he should have.
“They don’t know me,” he said.
“They do,” I assured him. “They see my blog, just like we see Fuzzy’s.”
So, on the way home, he actually stopped to say hello. That’s how Hubby got to meet them, too. Even if he didn’t get to ride with us.
Here’s the final shot I’d like to share.
Oreo Cows of North River Road
That’s my favorite herd of Oreo cows. I wonder if that farmer knows his cows are “famous”?
Not sure what all we’re doing this weekend, Hopefully something fun.
We’re not religious people. And we don’t have family close by. So, to us, Easter weekend was just another weekend.
Killjoy
The weather was nice, though. In my mind, it was a perfect Spring weekend. Temps in the mid-60s. Sunny. Relatively cloudless.
It would have been a nice riding weekend. But I had a bunch of yard work to get done. And since the weather was perfect for working in the yard, that’s what I did.
I spent Saturday morning procuring plants. Saturday afternoon and Sunday were dedicated to weeding, digging, and planting.
Trust me when I tell you I was dead on my feet by Sunday night. I’m just not as fit as I used to be. All of that bending, stooping, digging, crawling around and such really took its toll. My brain was mush by Sunday evening. I was still quite sore yesterday, too.
The good news is, the flower beds are just about ready for mulching. The even better news is that we hired a nice young man to do the mulching for us.
Last year, Hubby and I spread 65, 2 cubic foot bags of shredded hardwood mulch around. It took a whole weekend to prep the beds (clean-out, weeding, and planting). It wiped us out. Since we both have other stuff going on (personal household projects), we decided to hire someone to help this year. I’ll post pics once the mulch has been installed.
Even though I’m whining about the after-effects, I enjoyed being outside. So did the girls.
Mama’s little helpers.
I’m not sure if it’s true of all dog breeds, but these Brittanys LOVE to be with their people. They were never far from my side. In the images above, left to right, you can see Meg snoozing in the warm sun, K hunting bees, and Belle watching me work. That was on Saturday.
On Sunday morning, while I was weeding, Belle and K were watching me very closely. I had to back up several steps to capture this next shot.
Supervisors
Meg napped off and on most of the day. Sometimes inside, but mostly outdoors with me.
Meg sorta snoozing.
Not very cooperative dogs.
These dogs always make me smile. (If you want to learn more about this breed, here’s a short Brittany video you can watch.)
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I wish I could remember what this shrub/bush is called. It has very dark-red leaves and, in Spring, is covered with the most beautiful little flowers.
Pretty flowering plant.
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That was my “holiday” weekend. I must admit, I did enjoy having the day off on Friday. Relaxation would have been nice, but I figured it would be better to get the bulk of the yard work done so that when riding weather finally settles in, I’ll have time to enjoy it.
The one thing I hadn’t seen up to that point were alligators. There are two resident gators at the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center, but they never came close enough for me to see them. And I was determined to see alligators. Especially since Hubby told me I wouldn’t see any in that part of Texas. He thought I was going to Corpus Christi. Since my itinerary was set, I didn’t give him many details of my whereabouts in advance.
I figured that Monday would be a good day to visit the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, which is about a two-hour drive from the tow of Port Aransas. I could have gone on Sunday, but didn’t want to waste the day with four hours of driving. But I had to leave my hotel really early (around 5:30 AM) so I’d have plenty of time.
I thought I’d get to see the sunrise. I was wrong. It was foggy again. Sigh…
Foggy morning at the marsh.
I did get to see a wild boar, which really wasn’t all that exciting. They are an invasive nuisance, and aren’t very attractive. Besides, it was dark. Honestly, when I saw it, I thought it was one of those wooden pig profiles people use as yard art.
By the time I reached the proper entrance — Google maps sent me to the closed back gate! — it was getting lighter. I cruised through the refuge a bit, waiting for temps, which were in the low 50s, to warm up. Alligators are inactive when it’s cold.
There’s a nice 16-mile auto tour route, which I enjoyed. And there are some nice overlooks, too, where you can see various marshes and bays. The natural world intrigues me. I found it all very beautiful and serene, especially since I practically had the place all to myself.
But I really wanted to see the alligators. There’s a small alligator viewing area near the visitor’s center. Apparently they like sunning themselves on the banks at that spot. When there’s sun. But it was still cloudy, though the fog had lifted, and pretty chilly, so I wasn’t surprised that there were no gators were to be seen.
I then headed for the Rail Trail, one of two trails I’d planned to explore while there. The literature I’d seen described it as about a half-mile trail beside a reed-lined slough (aka marsh) where you can see waterbirds, particularly rails and bitterns, as well as alligators.
It was chilly enough that I had to wear the hood of my sweatshirt, and I don’t chill easily, so I didn’t expect to see any gators. Squawking, large birds quickly captured my attention anyway. Despite my tiptoeing very slowly down the grassy path — I was making virtually no noise — I was spooking these big-ass, long-necked, heron-looking birds that were hanging out in the trees.
Anhinga (I think)
I’d never seen those particular birds before. I think they were Anhingas, but I could be wrong. All I know for sure is that they are big — 50″ wingspan — and shy. No matter how quiet I was or how slowly I moved I kept spooking them. Before long, the entire flock of 50+ birds was airborne. They’d fly around in big circles over the area, and me. When they flew above me, all I could hear was the beating of their giant wings and a soft whoosh as they sliced through the air. It was pretty cool.
Flock of what I think were Anhingas.
Convinced I wasn’t going to see any gators, I kept tiptoeing down the path hoping for a better look at those bashful birds.
Anhingas (I think)
I did manage to capture a decent image or two.
I kept looking into the slough, when the reeds would allow it. And I finally saw a gator.
Gator!
He was pretty far down in the water when I spotted him, and slowly sank lower until he was gone.
I kept walking and looking and, sure enough, saw more. This is my favorite gator pic of the day.
Watcher
It really would be easy to mistake the gators for logs or other floating stuff with them so low in the water.
The next image, captured at the end of the trail, will give you an idea how long this gator was. I’d guess 12 feet at least, maybe longer.
Long Gator
I never did see a rail, that I’m aware of.
Next up, the 1.4-mile Heron Flats Trail. See why I needed to leave so early? There was a lot to see.
Really low gator.
My first view of this small pond along the trail yielded nothing. The next time the water came into view, I saw another gator. You have to look closely, it was really low in the water.
A few steps further on, I was excited to see a gator on the bank.
Banked gator.
Did you see the other two gators in the water, right close to shore? I didn’t notice them until after I uploaded the image onto my computer. Three gators in one frame and I hadn’t even realized it. They appear to be lying in wait for something. Perhaps an unsuspecting whitetailed deer? Or maybe a wild boar? No pets are allowed on the refuge, and for good reason.
It was so quiet and peaceful walking along the trail between the pond, on my left, and the marsh, on my right. I had plenty of time, so I kept walking. I’m glad I did, too. Here’s some of the cool stuff I saw.
Black-necked Stilt (another new-to-me bird)
Cactus and interesting leaves.
Craggy, Live-oak Bark
Mexican Buckeye (I think)
Lichen or polka-dotted tree?
The Trail
Flowering tree, which looks like some type of myrtle. I could be wrong there.
Bright Bug
I thoroughly enjoyed the morning nature walk. But I still had miles to cover, so left soon after that.
I hadn’t gone far when I came to this railroad crossing.
Train. Notice the dead pig on the other side of it? Lower left.
The train was so long, there was a helper engine in the middle!
The further inland I traveled, the sunnier it got. So I was really able to enjoy the beautiful countryside and all of the wildflowers.
This past weekend my friend, Brad, came for a visit. He arrived on Thursday evening, but had to entertain himself on Friday as I was working. Friday evening, he, Mike, and I went to our favorite local dining establishment — El Toro! — for a yummy dinner. Saturday, Brad and I left Hubby at home — he has a project going in his workshop — and went on a hike.
Trail Marker
Brad slept in on Saturday, so I had plenty of time to research the right hike. I opted for Whiteoak Canyon. The guidebook described the trail, which provided access to Whiteoak Falls, as not too strenuous, but did warn that the hike back up to the trailhead was a bit steep in spots.
There’s nothing like a waterfall hike to make you realize just how badly out of shape you are!
We stopped at Safeway here in town for some picnic fare — cheese, sausage, a baguette, olives, peppadews, and water — and then drove out to the park. It’s quite convenient living just 35 miles from the park’s Thornton Gap Entrance.
Bradley
Temperatures were in the upper 50s/low 60s on the trail, which, in my opinion, is perfect weather for a hike.
Naked Trees
It’s still winter, so most of the trees are still bare. The big, dead tree (aka snag) I suspect is an Eastern Hemlock. According to the Virginia Department of Forestry, “Unfortunately, the hemlock woolly adelgid, an introduced insect, is taking a heavy toll on this species.” Sadly, there were quite a few snags in the forest.
Some of the deciduous trees were starting to bud.
I LOVE the sound of a fresh mountain stream.
Mountain Stream
After we’d walked a ways, we spotted a group of large boulders beside a pool, which made perfect seats for our picnic.
Downed tree full of Pileated Woodpecker holes.
It was also a good spot for some photos.
Lichen-covered rock.
Do you see a face?
Colorful Lichen
Brad examining the woodpecker holes.
Old Friends
Picnic Pool
Fungi
Patterns in Nature
Baby Hemlock
Heart Rock
Clear Water
Fungi
Fungi
I’m not sure we ever made it to the lower falls. I’ll have to hit that trail again soon. Perhaps when the Mountain Laurel is in bloom.
By the time we’d finished eating, it was getting late. I wanted to show Brad a bit of Fauquier County and we still had to get home in time for dinner.
We exited the park at Thornton Gap, headed east toward Warrenton and then north on 522, through Flint Hill, to Hume Road. I was hoping the longhorns were out at the Marriott Ranch. They weren’t, but we did spot a small herd on Leeds Manor Road.
Of course, we had to stop for a closer look. And pictures.
Longhorn
Longhorn
Brad
Longhorn with REALLY big horns.
Young’uns
Young Tri-color
After a brief bovine visit, we continued on.
It was a lovely, lovely day. Brad and I have known each other for 32 years. We don’t get to see each other nearly as often as we’d like. We’ll both treasure this weekend for a long time.
I hope you were able to get out and enjoy some nice weather, too. Barely 24 hours later, we were hit with yet another snowstorm that dumped 10 inches of the cold, wet, white stuff behind.
In case y’all are getting bored with vacation posts, I decided to switch things up a bit. Plus, we’re having server issues and I can’t get to my images at the moment. But my IT guy is working on it.
We went to the WV Place this past weekend for a change.
Hubby and I hadn’t been there together since January. My last visit was in March and his was in June. Talk about neglecting the place…
It was awesome. The dogs had a blast. We had lots of chores and cleaning up to do, but it was still good to be back. Especially since the leaves are starting to change.
Oh, how I’ve missed my country yard…
Of course, I captured a bunch of images to share, too. Enjoy!
