We had many visitors this week! Some were welcome and some we were glad to see leave the premises. Beginning with the speckled turtle above. I have heard that they return to the same location every year to lay eggs and the one above seems right on schedule. I encounter a turtle every spring in just about the same place under our giant maple tree in Maggie's side field. It didn't even pull its head in, so I think he/she recognized me.
On the same day, only a few minutes later, our resident crows were throwing a hissy fit. It turned out they were chasing and harassing a fox, which ran across the bottom of our field. Hard to tell, but it's probably the same fox I saw before in Maggie's pasture. I didn't get a picture because it was further away and the drama was enacted pretty quickly but it was cool! Nice looking fox...
That same day, the farrier paid a visit to trim Maggie's feet and agreed that her hind hoof harbored the biggest abscess he had ever seen. (One assumes he's been in contact with many of them.) He thought she'd be fine, even though her entire hoof feels sort of hollow. She's a tough old horse, and not always fond of visitors to her domain so it's a good thing that the blacksmith came before...
The vet! Horrors! Maggie hates the kind of attention that comes with doctor's visits: teeth filing, shots, intruding hands, although she does seem to like Dr. Carlson better than the evil Dr. Elwell. I request that people coming to minister to Maggie call me from the driveway so as to give me a minute to catch Maggie before she senses strangers approaching. She has been known to turn tail and gallop beautifully across the field, evading hoof trims and shots and spontaneous riding parties. For an older horse, she moves very fast.
Our hummingbirds returned recently and we now have two feeders, thanks to Sheldon and Louise and their birthday generosity to Bob. I haven't seen it, but Bob and our friend Elizabeth claim to have seen the smallest (probably an immature male) hummer they'd ever witnessed. We've already had dive bombing aerial battles.
I will not document the most recent visitor in pictures. I had a case of food poisoning last night and as I needn't remind anyone, this was not good experience. Bob and I purchased salmon burgers yesterday and we both agreed that the young man manning the fish counter was unpleasant. He was pre-occupied and terse and obviously didn't relish being elbow deep in ice, scallops, snapper and free range, wild caught, cold pressed Alaskan sock eye. The couple he waited on before us requested crab so I asked him-ironically- to change his plastic gloves as I'm highly allergic to crustaceans and can get very sick. I say ironically as several hours after consuming the very deliciously prepared salmon burger, I awoke to a nasty cramping in my stomach which required a hasty departure to the down stairs bathroom. Suffice it to say, I was unsure as to which end to attend to first as both points of exit were in dire need and would not be denied. I successfully voided any trace of the offending fishwich after a prolonged intermission in sleep and returned to tell Bob of my plight. (He suffered no ill effects.) Fortunately, I feel fine this morning but am not anticipating craving sushi any time soon.
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