HAPPY NEW WEEK! I hope everyone has a wonderful week! I’m taking a short break from work to say hello to you all and tell you about my new friend.
Every summer, I seem to have one animal who chooses to stay close to my house and keep me company. Last year, it was the little yearling white-tailed deer. This year, it’s an enormous groundhog! He’s made a burrow underneath the fallen apple tree next to my bedroom window, and he’s been spending his days puttering around my front porch, eating the weeds that I’ve allowed to grow.
He’s a formidable critter. A couple of decades ago, we had a huge groundhog on this land. My Mom named him “Bear,” because he was nearly as large as a bear cub. The current resident groundhog must be Bear’s descendent, because he’s a big fella! He has immense teeth (I think he’s fairly old) and long, thick claws. Despite his scary appearance, he’s been friendly to me. Groundhogs generally avoid people and can be hostile to humans if they feel crowded or cornered, but Bear II makes no effort to leave when I go outdoors. When I talk to him, he tilts his head like a dog and stares at me with interest. LOL He makes me laugh, waddling around the yard.
I didn’t try to photograph him, because I read that mobile phones and other devices emit electromagnetic fields that some animals, including groundhogs, can hear (or feel?). He looks like the one in this photo, though.
Groundhog, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia NPS photo labeled “Public domain” (copyright free)
Evening all:
AQ: Thanks for sorting me out! Any chance of a space heater in your computer room?
Diane: I posed the "where are the hummingbirds" question on our neighborhood website and got a big response. Others are missing them too. Reasons range from "no idea what's going on," "cool spring" and "are they nesting?" to "article in LA Times said many are feeding in desert due to higher-than-normal rainfalls there" and "I heard they are all sick from conjunctivitis." Temps are supposed to be close to normal for a day or two next week, so we'll see. But meanwhile, looks like your area is in for severe weather Monday/Tuesday. Do hope it isn't taking too terrible a toll on your little house, which we know has already suffered in the past. :-((
Lynette: Maybe the cab driver thought people leaving the Cocktail Bar would have had such a good time they wouldn't notice the price.
Annette: That's fascinating -- in a disturbing way -- that others are missing the hummingbirds, too. I did a quick search and saw this article from the San Jose, California paper (which I realize is a long way from you).I have a very tall and very old locust tree on my creek levee. The hummingbirds are usually attracted to the red-orange flowers on a trumpet vine that goes all the way to the top of that tree. The storms have stripped most of the flowers off, so I thought that's why I hadn't seen any of the little birds. Now I wonder if there's a widespread threat to them.
Let me know if you see any. Thanks for asking your neighborhood. Maybe later on, I'll do some more research, if none show up here. I haven't been outdoors very much, because it's too wet to mow, so maybe I'm just missing them.
Yup. More storms tomorrow.
AQ: I enjoyed your photos. Those pelicans are glorious. Sweeping landscapes!
Lindy: I forgot to say that your poppy photo was beautiful!
OG: I hope you had a great time at your concert!
Forest Boar: I hope your medical issues will be resolved very soon.
Diane: I just posted your link on our neighborhood site. It seems to confirm some of the suggestions locals have made. Thank you!
AQ: Yes, thank you for the photos!
I forgot to mention I was watching the tennis last night, French Open telecast begins 10.30 pm, so I expected a late night. But it was interrupted by rain. Not in Paris. Here in Adelaide. My computer decided to lose its signal in the rain. I did have some sound – various squeaks & squawks and thuds as balls hit the court. But no picture. I gave up and left Federer to manage without me.
More about bus trip. Across Blanchetown bridge to east of river and travelling south. Farmland is extremely stony. Low rainfall of course.
Maggea hall built 1919; it also served as a school until 1967. Probably privately owned. Typical of halls in district.
There 2 other halls in the district, also built before car provided easy transport and farms were smaller, families larger. Mercunda hall abandoned, no windows, doors or floorboards. Mantung has been restored by enthusiastic locals and serves the whole district. The hall is a museum with rooms added on. The locals provided us with lunch. Roast beef in roll ($7), baked potato & cole slaw ($5), drinks also available but I had my water bottle.
We returned home via Galga (birthplace of singer Julie Anthony) & Bakara (another extinct town), re-crossed river at Murray Bridge, then home along South Eastern Freeway.
AQ: You must have covered a lot of the area around Adelaide. Any plans to go farther afield? Maybe to Eastern Oz (just to confirm it's there) or maybe North? There's a huge disconnect between both our coasts and what's in between; so many Americans just fly over it and don't even look out the window....
OG: How was the concert?
Sunny today. It's Memorial Day; many places are closed but of course there are the Memorial Day Sales at those places that are open. Gym is open, so I'm going to Tai Chi and will putter in the garden later.
Heather: I'm very bad at pacing myself. I seem to labor under the delusion that I'm two decades younger than I really am. Thanks for reminding me that I meant to comment to PatO that a cruise around the world is clearly the best way to lose weight.