Garden Sanctuary

While I was shopping yesterday with mom I was also on red alert for any clothing items that I might like for myself. I saw nothing that interested me enough to hassle with trying on. This morning we went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and of course I had to "shop" in their country store. I was excited to find this adorable dressy tee shirt and wanted to share the find in case any of my blog readers were interested in the getting one.Front design

Scoop neck tee with 3/4 length sleeves.

Shop 'til you Drop

Mom asked me to go clothes shopping with her today. I don't think I have been to a mall in three years (and haven't missed it). We went to the mall at Fairfield Commons near Dayton. She needed some clothes for spring and trip to Arizona and something to wear to her 50th reunion for nursing school. Neither of us is wild about shopping and agreed that our clothes trying on threshold is about an hour. She found two nice outfits at Christopher and Banks and another a JCP (after I made her try on a ton of clothes). We had lunch at Spinoza's. It was delicious-salads and pizza. Anyway, I made one small purchase being the kid that I am and here it is. Aren't they darling? They are only 3 inches tall.

A Week on the Beach...

...Is a nice way to recharge the 'ole batteries. We just got back ahead of the "snow storm", that dumped 4 inches on us, last night. We camped at Edisto Beach, South Carolina. An out in the boonies, nothing to do kind of place, unless you like birdwatching, beach walking, bike riding, cooking over a campfire and braving the elements. Some years the weather has been downright cruel. This year it was kind and we enjoyed 70 degree days and one episode of rain. Between the two of us we took 600 + photos. I have assembled a very abbreviated collection that can be seen here. And some highlights below.

Sunrise on the beach.

Marine life in the surf.

Shell piles at low tide.

Oyster catcher in flight.
Pleistocene age fossil horse tooth found on the beach.

Little Blue Heron at Botany Bay Wildlife Preserve.

Our little 1973 Bethany Camper.

Andrew is enjoying fresh caught scallops that I pan fried and drenched with lemon.

Bike trip down the beach.

Sunset.

Tuckered puppy.

Lilac Haven's Halo

Halo is the offspring of Lilac Haven's Ruby and Fuzzies Dylan. The 4 H'ers that I mentor got Ruby from me in 2006. They wanted to breed her last spring as a part of their project and Halo was the only offspring that survived out of a litter of 3. As you can see she is a beautiful girl and I plan to show her at the state convention in May if her coat holds that long.

“Éirinn go brách”

Paddy O'No you did not put that outfit on me!
Happy St. Patrick's Day

Wood Frogs

We went out again today to observe the wood frogs. It was 49 degrees outside-down about 15 degrees from Friday. In other words chilly in the vernal pool and not a lot of action from the frogs other than the sounds of their quack like calls. Unlike Friday however there were multitudes of egg masses floating in the water so the frogs have been very busy over the past two days. Once the frogs have mated, which can take up to 24 hours of them being attached to each other, the female lays anywhere from 300 to 1000 fertilized eggs. In about 50 days the eggs will mature to froglets. A interesting bit of info about wood frogs-they over winter in a completely frozen state and thaw out when spring arrives and begin to mate.

Another vernal pool

Slogging through the mud

Egg masses on top and underneath the surface of the water.

I'm holding a very chilled pair of mating frogs (who were released unharmed after they got their picture taken).

A male wood frog in his woodland habitat.

Andrew's holding some frogs too.

The first flower of spring-the Skunk Cabbage-whose fragrance smells like-you guessed it-a skunk!

Feelin' Froggy

Andrew and his colleague checked out some vernal pools in Hocking County today in search of frogs. The following is a series of photos featuring wood frogs and their spring mating behavior. I think they are quite interesting and Andrew said there were hundreds of frogs in this particular location. Vernal pool are areas that are flooded for periods throughout the year but that do not support fish life. They are important for certain species of amphibians that rely on these areas for egg laying and hatching of their young which requires water. Vernal pools are generally wet in the spring and by August they have typically dried up. Run off from farms and yards in some areas can effect the productivity of a vernal pool and pollute it to the extent that it can't support life. This is where public education can be effective in teaching people how to prevent pollution in these places.

This is a vernal pool. You've probably seen something similar near your own home.

Hundreds of wood frogs are becoming active with the onset of warm nights and periods of rain.

Hey dude!

You can see Andrew's reflection in the frog's eye. He is stooping down to take the photo.

This is a female wood frog and she is identified by her rust coloration and size.

This is a male wood frog. He is identified by his greenish brown to tan color and smaller size.

Look closely and you will see that this is actually two frogs mating. At first glance it looks like the female.
Side view of the mating behavior where the color differences between the male and female are not as evident.
In this photo you can see the large belly of the female frog that is packed full of eggs waiting to be fertilized.

Late Night Visitor

As much as I dislike these little critters I have to admit they are cute in their own way. This one was crossing over the top of our 6 foot stockade fence this evening when Andrew just happened to look out the back window while he was talking on the phone.

A Hareraising Experience

Pip and Zorro were basking in the yard when I got home tonight. Here's a sampling of the antics they performed for me. Zorro is scooting for the border in the bottom photo but a few minutes later he came back around to pose for more photos. He's starting to warm up to us.

Jacques is Back

This is Jacques. He's a sweet boy. He was born at Lilac Haven; a year and a half ago he went to live with another wonderful breeder (who is now ill and needed to place some buns in new homes). Last night I brushed him and put him in his pen with a kale leaf and some feed. He's right back next to his half brother Evan Almighty and this morning he seemed content and came right to the door of his cage to greet me. Andrew wondered if rabbits have a memory. :-)

Giant Snowman

A friend sent me this photo that his mother took in Huron, OH the other day. It's the biggest snowman I have ever seen. Looks like he is a little worse for the wear. :-)

The Crack of Dawn

Andrew stepped out on the deck this morning and Pip and her "friend" were waiting for him. It was too dark for him to get a photo (the goal is to capture them together on film). Anyway I went out again at 7:30 am and Pip approached me for food and posed for a photo. I like this one better than the one I posted the other day because it shows more of the snow.

Pip in the Snow

Pip and "a friend" were out playing in the snow this evening. They were so cute-chasing and boxing with each other. We watched them for about 10 minutes and while we didn't see the deed being done I'm guessing we will find babies around April 1st. Pip's living under the deck ( I think I mentioned this previously). I've been feeding her kale and pellets. When Andrew opened the door Pip's suitor scooted off toward the end of the rabbitry and hid in the shadows to see what was going on. Pip, however stood up and looked at Andrew and then began happily munching a spruce twig while striking a variety of poses for the camera.