Chance enjoying one of the last of the snowbanks.
Bluebirds: They are here, building a nest, they first showed up on Monday April 13. I sat out for an hour one day trying to get a photo, no luck..it didn't help that Chance wanted to play ball, instead of watching for birds. As soon as I got up and played ball, the Bluebirds were behind me chirping away.
Loons: None heard yet, a neighbor said he heard one.. so any day now.
A couple of Swans.
A Red Winged Blackbird
Canadian Friends! Deer Ticks: They are here. The little tiny itty bitty size of a pin head ticks. Chance had one crawling on him yesterday April 15. We capture them on pieces of scotch tape, then we fold the tape over on itself and then cut the tick in half with a knife or a scissors. Duct tape works really well too..you can line them up and then smother them. You can also get out a magnifying glass and watch their little legs go a hundred miles an hour trying to escape the tape. We use Frontline on Chance, I stopped by the Vet's Office and they said "Yup the Deer ticks woke up on Monday..and Frontline business was booming." They have a new Office gal..I am not sure that she will work out either..she might be a few sandwiches short of a picnic.
Chance perfectly framed, gathering ticks :)
Wow there's a big difference in spring's progression between your neck of the woods and mine Connie!
ReplyDeleteSpring is a bit delayed here, although we have no snow on the ground. (That could of course change!) Things are greening up nicely here, the trees are budding, and the early spring bulbs and a few other early perennials are budding and blooming, although they're small for this time of April. It's been cold, but seems to be starting to warm up the last couple of days.
I love your photos and it looks beautiful there - what great open spaces, woods, and shorelines!
Your photographs are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWould you consider joining us for "Friday Shoot-Outs"? We have a gang (yep, you read it here....a gang?) from all over the world that takes snaps of a different theme every Friday featuring out town. Think about it and holla back at my blog if you're inteested. I'll send you the details. We all have a great time and would love for you to join in the fun......
Steady On
Reggie Girl
Yuk. I am not looking forward to the ticks coming back!
ReplyDeleteThe Retirement Chronicles
Ha, of all the space to stand, Chance has to stand on top of the last snow bank:))) Things are warming up for you I see. Your temp. of 61 beats our nippy 50.
ReplyDeleteHi Connie - Chance looks like he is waiting on something to fall in front of him - maybe a bird. Hope not. Love the photos. Sorry you still have snow on the ground. I bet things are beginning to make a show real soon. After all it is spring. Have a nice day.
ReplyDeleteFunny how the bluebirds mock you as soon as you put the camera down!!!!!! They do that to me too! Chance is a sweetheart. Glad you are beginnig to see some Springtime.
ReplyDeleteI love that Chance! Oh I can sympathize with you regarding those dang ticks! I hate them! We don't see many deer ticks on the animals but many people in Maine have been biten by them and it has resulted in Lyme disease...a very long and painful disease that is hard to diagnose. The larger ticks will be showing up real soon. We have not had enough back to back warm days yet for that to happen. Thanks for the reminder about the frontline!!
ReplyDeleteI had a few hundred red wing black birds in my trees a few weeks ago. They migrate through spring and fall here in Iowa. Some stay here but maybe some of them ended up in your back forest. It is a lot of squawking when you have that many birds in one area. I would like to see more swan pictures as the season warms up.
ReplyDeleteLarry
We have no ticks...what a creative way to dispose of them.
ReplyDeleteWow that seemed quick! But then I'm not there. Ugh ticks. Now I'm itching!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all of your kind words. I don't think I have any more shoes to drop. My "William Baffin" was purchased at Grand Marais, Minn. but even GM has milder climates than we do. Our concern is that they survive the winter here and it has for five years. Our hot and dry summers are great for it and it is big.
ReplyDeleteLarry
Ah - ticks! Oscar got his first one about 9 April and we put X-spot on him.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you have now entered the browns of spring, even though you would like a bit more green perhaps!
I had to call Gar over to read your last sentence. "She is a few sandwiches short of a picnic."
ReplyDeleteOh my......
We both laughed at that one.
Jen
The picnic phrase is one of our favorites (and my husband likes to say, "A Bubble off Plumb"
ReplyDeleteThe bluebirds are so flitty -- how I love to hear their soft nasal chatter as they fly back and forth.
I love red-wing blackbirds. They live in the cattails in one of the hollows on our place. They are just wonderful! Although, I like the blue birds, and heck all the birds!
ReplyDeleteLinda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/
Chance is the king of his snow drift. LOL.
ReplyDeleteDeer ticks huh? I wonder if we have them here. I'll have to research. I never had to worry about them much in Ohio, but I fear Kansas is probably another story.
When I first visited out here in '07, we had to go to one of my hubby's friend's homes to feed his horses etc while he was out of town. They had several dogs running the property, and I saw my first ticks on a dog. The kind that are left to feast on an animal. I was so grossed out. My hubby just yanked them off the dogs, which further grossed me out. At that point, I almost did not want to move to Kansas because I feared for my dogs, but then I realized it was just a case of NO PREVENTION. Ugh!
Glad you got Chance on his Frontline right away!! :) And yes, we are all glad that spring is almost sprung. Yay!!!