New Year's Eve

I enjoyed reading this from the New York Times today:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/31/opinion/31mon3.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

The Christmas Sweater

Here is a picture of Tim's sweater. It was knitted in secret and finished on 22nd - thanks to my knitting angels that answered questions and snuck over to help at all hours of the day and night. This was my first handspun/handknit effort, and believe you me, I learned a LOT.


The fleece was Ford's, our second ram (that's him on the left and no, it's not snowing here). I spun a light and a dark single and then plied them together. I copied the design from one of Tim's favorite sweaters. No tears involved and I'm ready to spin and knit another one....hmmm, with some cables I think :-).

Don't Panic!

He's okay, just resting. I spied them from the back porch and couldn't resist snapping a picture...after I made sure that he was indeed just resting.

His buddies aren't always this kind. There has been some serious "paying back" going on, especially from Aria, the old bay mare, who's suffered the wrath of this young punk for several years now. She knows this is her window of opportunity and has used the time wisely to move herself up in the "pecking order" and is finally bossing someone else around for a change. Perhaps her most amusing act is waiting until I've let them out of their stalls in the morning and then marching right into T-Bone's stall and peeing. Take that! I can just see her holding it all night, just for this opportunity.

The good news is that he's making some progress with the bad foot and actually using it a little - a huge step forward, no pun intended. Perhaps a Christmas miracle?

Happy Holidays!

We're in the middle of all the last minute scrambling to get every last thing done, but I wanted to take a break to wish everyone a happy holiday.






For anyone not familiar with the Christmas card collection, this is our 2007 design. I paint a new card each year and for the last four years they’ve introduced or incriminated various characters on our farm. This year’s card was tough because of the issues with T-Bone’s foot. I wasn’t sure how I would handle the “worst case scenario”, but finally realized that whatever happened, he’d always be with us in our hearts, just as are Sammy Super Dog, Punkin, Baby Beverly, Sophie and all our other much missed friends and family. Thankfully he’s still with us, fighting on bravely, and he’s glad to not be the “bad boy” on the card this year, a spot that can rightly only go to Boudreaux The Biter ;-).

The inside greeting is our repeated wish of Peace and Joy. Happy Holidays!

Ghosts Of Christmases Past

I haven't had time to do much of the silly sheep stuff I normally do at Christmastime, so here are a couple pictures from Christmases past. Popcorn PP Pants got to do an actual formal Christmas photo (would credit the photographer, but no longer remember...) and Henrietta participated in a humane society fundraiser at the local Tractor Supply Company. No one ever expects a sheep!

It's Beginning To Look A Little Like Christmas

Stella and I took advantage of the beautiful spring weather today and put lights on the big tree in our front yard. I knew it was pretty tall, but now, putting it in perspective with the flag pole on the left (that's a Packers flag, not a disrespected American flag) and front of the house on the right, I'm really impressed. I like this tree so well that if it wasn't going to rain tonight, I'd drag a sleeping bag out there and camp under its happy glow.

It's So Tempting...

...to title this entry "What on earth...!?!" Just happy to see it and hoping the forecast for heavy rains for the next two days heads south.

Go out and play!

"You Wouldn't Understand..."

Sorry to be so few and far between. With everything going on with T-Bone and trying to fill Christmas orders, I'm buried. Have no new or good news to report with T's foot. I took him to the clinic the other day for follow up x-rays and we didn't learn anything very helpful other than we've done everything we can and from here on out, it's going to be up to him. I feel very bad for him. No one likes to be sick over the holidays (or any time).

When I got back from the vet clinic, I thought the ground was still frozen enough that I could turn the truck and trailer around in the sheep field. The weather was warming up and I thought that if I didn't get it done then, with the warm rain coming in, we wouldn't get it done for at least a week and I didn't want to chance being without the trailer if I needed it. So, I gave it a good try and....there she sat.


One thing you learn living with Jacob sheep, is never, ever, ever leave the keys in the vehicle/tractor/ATV. There probably aren't any Cheviots out there that are clever enough to steal a truck, but you just can't trust those wily Jacobs.


Or Buddy and Boudreaux either, come to think of it.


Actually, as a baby, Popcorn PP Pants was pretty fond of the ATV as well.

Must be a "sheep" thing.

When The Saints Go Marching

I'm surrounded by saints. Whether it's Saint Tim for being such a good sport about everything, T-Bone for being such a brave patient, Judy for coming over and standing in the rain (we were in the barn, but it rained so hard we were sure we weren't) for hours while we worked on T-Bone's foot yesterday, to young Ewen McTeagle, who was recruited to join a walking nativity scene in a Christmas parade Saturday night. This turned out to be quite the walk, but most parades are. We had a good time though and I think we all slept well that night ;-).

Everyday

We've had a rough couple of weeks at Equinox Farm. One of our favorite "ponies" is struggling with a foot problem and has us all pretty nervous. T-Bone is receiving good veterinary and farrier care though and Tim and I are doing the best we can to be good ICU nurses and we are all hoping for the best. A foot problem may not sound like much until you factor in the 12oo pounds relying on standing on it and what can snowball from there.

So, here it is, almost a week after Thanksgiving and I'm stressed about still not posting a Thanksgiving blog. For crying out loud, we all have so much to be thankful for and I'm sooo grateful for so many things. How hard could it have been? Then, I walked out the back door this morning and found this ice droplet hanging from the "beak" of our hummingbird feeder.


In real life, it was about 3/16 of an inch wide and hanging from - get this! - a single strand of a spider's web. The beauty of sometimes "just hanging on" and making everyday "Thanksgiving".

Christmas Is Coming

And Fifi is working hard(ly).


I'm not sure Fifi/Fiddle/Wiwi has appeared on the blog before. She's our "indoor" cat. The queen of the universe...as most cats like to think/are. I guess the best way to describe her is she is a cat of many opinions. Her opinion right now is probably that it was about time I gave her a nice, warm place to sleep. She's also good at sleeping on unspun yarn, but if you go to the trouble of making a nice permanent wooly cat bed, she immediately decides that she's no longer interested. Of course.

True Kentucky

Yesterday my friend Charlotte and I made a trip to Glendale, Kentucky. I had a flock of sheep to deliver to True Kentucky and we decided to make a day of it. Glendale is a small town with a true "small town" feel just outside Elizabethtown, complete with a train running right through, lots of nice shops, antique stores and a fabulous place to eat lunch. There were actually several interesting restaurants and cafes, but we were inspired to try The Depot and were absolutely not disappointed. I had THE BEST vegetable plate! I'm a pretty good eater, but if I'm still talking about something the next day, then you know it was outstanding ;-).

This was my first trip to True Kentucky as well, and again we were absolutely not disappointed. Annette has a beautiful store and I am very proud to have some of my favorite sheep on her shelves. Here is a picture of the kids on her front porch.


True Kentucky is located at 452 E Main Street on the "outskirts" of Glendale, and you can walk from there to all the shops and restaurants "downtown". The drive from Lexington took about an hour and a half, but the good company and beautiful Kentucky scenery made the time just fly by. I can't think of a nicer way to shop for the holidays.

Fine Feathered Friends

We spent some time over the weekend prepping the gardens for winter and I took some of the cut sunflower heads out to the bird feeder and Woodstock hosted a bird party! Much like baking cupcakes for your child to take to school I'd imagine.


This guy was not invited, but we enjoyed spying on him from behind the barn...only because we don't think he's big enough to carry off one of the Adventure Chickens...we hope.


This is a test post from the laptop, using the new wireless, but not quite highspeed system, so there may be some text/photo issues to fix.

Trick or Treat

What better way to spend a day than by taking a couple of your favorite four legged friends to visit a couple of your favorite two legged friends. And what better day than Halloween! Stella and I talked Ewen McTeagle and Miss Ewenice into dressing up for Tricks or Treats and we went a-callin' on the Eleanors.

Miss Ewenice looks more like a princess than a ballerina.

How could you not give darling Ewen some candy?

Throw in a stop for yummy cider and fried apple pies at Evans Orchard on the way home and you just can't beat a perfect fall day.

Sheep Shots

Spent some quality time at the Harrison County Health Department this morning. I needed a tetanus shot and decided to see if it would be easier to run in there rather than drive all the way into Lexington to my regular doctor's office. We have a brand new facility, which is actually quite nice, and all went well except they did not accept my insurance and I had to pay full price...until they found out it was a farm injury and then I got a break.

Today's shot was due to me gashing myself on the hand while trimming, of all sheep, Elizabeth's feet over the weekend. While I was waiting for the big stick, I got to thinking about the last time I'd had to get a tetanus shot. That day was a Sunday about 8 or so years ago and I'd just been "bitten" by Punkin.

He was pretty old at that point and I was giving him some medicine to help his arthritis. I would mix the powder into honey and he would take it off my finger. That day I didn't keep my finger to the side of his mouth though and he accidentally bit down and broke the skin. Since it was technically an animal bite and it had been a long while since I'd had a booster, I decided not to wait until Monday and went into an urgent treatment center in Lexington.

Here's where it gets funny. Now I'm pretty sure you could walk into an urgent treatment center (if we had one) in rural Harrison County and say you'd been bitten by a sheep and no one would even look up. If you go into the "big city" and say that, it becomes a police matter. Apparently any animal bite must be reported, and after being interviewed by several people, filling out and signing many forms and documents, and in general providing the best entertainment some of those doctors and nurses had probably seen in awhile, I was able to keep Punkin out of jail (quarantine), but was not able to erase his police record. And so it goes.

Punkin would have been 15 tomorrow. This picture was taken by my friend Mary Beth during the winter of 2003. He was, indeed, the best sheep ever.

A Rainy Day Visit With An Old Friend

I can no longer pick Woodstock from a big group of doves, but he did leave me with one special gift. For some reason, early on, he buddied up with a bunch of little sparrows. I could see that he did hang out with the doves as well, but he always made one last trip to the feeder, morning and evening, with the sparrows. Now that he's all grown up and gets completely lost in the dove crowd, it's a comfort to still be able to catch a glimpse of a giant size "sparrow" outside my window, especially on a dreary, rainy morning.

Uplifting

We just got back from The New York State Sheep and Wool Festival, more commonly known as "Rhinebeck".

I took my camera. There were so many things I should have taken pictures of - sheep, llamas, rabbits, goats, people, hundreds of beautiful vendor booths, yarns, roving, bags upon bags of incredible raw wool, toys, tailgaters (yes, I said tailgaters - mimosas and everything at 8:30 in the a.m. in the parking area!), spinning wheels, looms, sweaters, blankets, rugs... I took no pictures. Not even of the incredible fall foliage we drove through on the way there.

I have never seen anything like it. I could have had a terrible time at the festival and still been glad to have made the trip, just for the leaves. I did have a great time though, without a doubt. Everything you hear about Rhinebeck is not one bit exaggerated. We are already planning a trip back next year. For reference, we enjoyed The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival several years ago (everyone should go once), but have never had the urge to go back.

Experience and education was our primary goal, but we also did a little shopping. I had my list ready for weeks - nothing too necessary, but lots of fun - a neat little Journey Loom, a beautiful Golding drop spindle, some books, cool t-shirt... Saint Tim had his thinking cap on though and picked this out.


I had planned on shearing Miss Ewenice before we left (long wool breeds are shorn twice a year), but ran out of time. How fortunate. This shearing stand is quite the handy tool, using a car jack to raise Miss Ewenice as high as I needed - in the picture it's only half way. Things are definitely looking up around here. Pun intended.

Smoke On The Water

The first official photo of fall. I believe this might be as good as it's going to get unfortunately. Most of the good color trees dropped their leaves early due to the drought. I took this from the back porch, looking out to the big pond, which does still have a little water left in it. The frog pond has been dry for months now. I used the 200 mm lens and think that's why the depth of field is so shortened - that's actually a good distance away. It was early and I'd only had one cup of coffee and the camera is still outsmarting me.

That would be T-Bone saying "Good morning".

A Funny Story On Myself

Yesterday, after the last (we hope) 91 degree day, I woke up to light drizzle and cooler temperatures. While I was happy for the fall weather, I was sad that there would really be no more pool days - in October, no less! I did my morning chores and thought some more about it and finally decided I would go for one last swim before the water cooled off any more. I jumped in (quickly to shorten the cold shock) and started swooshing back and forth under water from one side of the pool to the other like a river otter - my favorite "12 year old" game :-).

After a little while I stopped to catch my breath and had an eerie feeling I was being watched. Looking around I found 13 Jacob sheep staring down at me from the field next to the orchard. I have no idea how long they had been standing there watching me and I'm pretty sure I don't want to know what they were thinking. I am definitely lacking in their eyes.

Anyone who thinks sheep are dumb animals has obviously not spent much time around any Jacob sheep. Elizabeth, one of our older ewes, is scary smart...and feels free to announce my stupidity on a regular basis. She monitors how much feed I put out for everyone and lets me know if I've shorted them any. I've tried to trick her by putting out the same number, but smaller piles of hay and she's always right on top of it. Her stare can bore holes through you and she never loses eye contact until she's made her point. Most sheep will look at you, even at your face, but a sheep that makes actual eye contact is different. Hard to explain, but everyone who's met her can tell the difference.

"Smoke 'em if you got 'em"

We had a great time (other than the awful heat) at The Kentucky Wool Festival this past weekend. Things worked out so that I got to visit a little with almost everyone I had hoped to see again this year and even made some fun new friends. I know my little sheep all went to good homes, even the one that came back to visit me in a grocery sack after their cat got ahold of him ;-).

As a special treat (and necessary chore) for having survived the long weekend, I decided to visit my beehive and see if everyone was getting ready for winter. I'm still learning, so if I've labeled these pictures incorrectly or am missing something obvious to a more knowlegable beekeeper, I'm hoping someone will jump in and set me straight. Luckily my bees are very tolerant, as once again I could not get that stupid bee smoker going - if you look up slow learner in the dictionary, you'll probably find a picture of me. Thankfully not covered in bee stings.


Here are some hard working bees bringing in some bright orange pollen (their food source) they've gathered from the asters and goldenrods that are blooming right now.


Here is a look at one of the frames from the top hive body. See the honey stored on the top half? The golden arch in the lower half is brood (developing bees - eggs, larvae and pupae).


And this looks to me like some baby bees emerging from their cells (click the picture to view a larger image). Almost as cute as little lambs.

No Cameras Please!

I was going to title this entry with one of my favorite quotes and take a picture of the view from there, but I've already dropped one cell phone in the pool, so I sure don't need to have my camera out there. So, you'll just have to imagine the bright blue sky, white puffy clouds, a glimpse of a pine tree or some amazingly still green leaves from the toughest, hardest working little peach tree in Kentucky, bees buzzing and even some buzzards circling so high in the sky that it's nicer to imagine they were playing on the air currents rather than searching for a snack (Look alive!).

While there is nothing I can do to counter the record breaking temperatures we've had for three days in a row, I can now happily embrace it by grabbing a favorite book (A Country Year by Sue Hubbell) and heading to the pool. I really have too much I need to be getting done before the Kentucky Wool Festival next month, but one last day in the 90's at the end of September was too good to pass up.

"Spend the afternoon. You can't take it with you." Annie Dillard

Equinox Farm

We have been here four years. Equinox Farm - the closing on the fall equinox, 2003. This morning I pulled up (funny - we used to pull "out") some pictures we'd taken that fall and we considered all the work we've done. Some things are best not remembered too well. I wish I could say that it seemed like just yesterday, but it doesn't. Maybe that comes with time. Maybe that's just something people say. I remember a time when it didn't feel quite like home, but now I can't imagine living anywhere else. I hope the farm feels the same about us.

This is a view from what is now the far end of our sheep field. I had wanted to post a before and after picture, but without any rain for so long, the after picture is far too sad, and really, this is a happy day.

Are You There God, It's Me, Big Green

We have had a bunch of Praying Mantis visitors this summer. Maybe it's just been a good year for them, but we like to think it's because we have created an attractive and safe environment for them. I found one on our hummingbird feeder yesterday, and last night, and this morning, and still there this afternoon. My first thought was that he was just chuggin' some syrup, but when he was still there this morning I got to wondering. I read somewhere that a Praying Mantis can take down a hummingbird (!). That would have to be a mighty big Praying Mantis wouldn't it? This medium size fella was probably just picking off the bugs trying to get to the syrup, but what if...

"If I could just catch me one hummingbird..."

A Tribute To Friendship

Many of my furried, finned and feathered friends are old. When the end comes, it's really no surprise, but that doesn't make it any easier. A couple of months ago one of my Cory Catfish passed. I had two small catfish living with my beloved Betta, "Campfire" - a huge brown and orange, heavily finned, beautiful fish. When I put their food in that morning, no one came up to greet me. Well, the Cories aren't super friendly, but Campfire, like most animals on this farm, was a good eater and never turned down a meal. Upon closer inspection, I found him and the remaining Cory sitting with their dead friend.

Now this isn't the first time I'd seen what appeared to be friendship among my fish. I used to leave the fish in the tank when I cleaned it and once unknowingly flipped a rock over and caught one of the catfish underneath. As I was putting away the cleaning supplies, I noticed a commotion in the tank and saw the other catfish trying to push the rock off his friend. I'm not kidding. There was nothing to question. However, in this case, even as I wanted to say these two fish were either trying to protect, comfort or mourning the loss of their friend, I had to consider that it might be just a coincidence.

This morning, Campfire did not come up to eat. He's very old and I knew we were on borrowed time. He was still alive, but failing. I considered a humane euthanasia (yes, this is sometimes the kindest thing and there are ways to do it - no fish should ever suffer), but he seemed "okay". I left to run some errands and when I got home, he was gone. Now, not so amazingly, his friend, the remaining Cory was right by his side. Once is a coincidence. Twice is real. I can only think he was providing some sort of comfort for his friend and while I never really questioned it before, will never, ever believe fish don't have feelings. And while I feel a bit creepy posting this sad picture, I wanted "proof" for anyone who might doubt my story.

The Grapes Of Wrath

Fall is here. For the last 30 some years of my life, you’d have seen that written as FALL IS HERE!!! This summer, as the 100 degree temps loomed last month, Saint Tim installed a summer saver - the little blue pool.

I have been a miserable person for almost five months of every year. I can’t help it. No matter how hard I try, I have never been able to handle hot weather. It ruled where I could or could not live, when or even if I would visit good friends living in hot climates, jobs, relationships, hobbies, sports...everything. Now I have a pool. Any time I want I can jump in, go under water, swim around weightless, drown out the heat and humidity, sit on a floaty, read a magazine (or camera manual) and splash in the cool water. I have watched and listened to birds I never normally see or hear, observed bees of all sorts up close, even been able to sleep at night, peaceful and relaxed. Maybe the best treat though was the grapes.



We've been here almost four years and I have never eaten any of these grapes. By the time they come on in late August, there are no recreational trips to the orchard. My loss - they are wonderful. Especially out by the pool. How decadent - sitting on a floaty in a swimming pool eating grapes.

So now, fall is here. Lower case and period. It's been cool enough for the last two days that the pool (which doesn't get any morning sun) is chilly. It's just going to get cooler this weekend. And for the first time in my life, I'm sad summer is gone.

The Story That Might Have Been

After it became clear that we were not going to have much luck getting the power company to help hang our painted barn quilt square (remember from a couple of months ago?), we started looking for other options. After not getting too far along those routes, we started thinking about hanging it ourselves. The story that might have been - think ropes and chains and pulleys, hooking the 300+ pound quilt square to the tractor and Tim up on a 40' extension ladder with power tools. Probably would have been a classic...or at least a good Vonage commercial (cue woohoohoo music).


Thankfully Clifford Tree Service came to the rescue. Don't get me wrong, even with the proper truck and equipment it was still a big job. Fitting it between the roof and the dusk-to-dawn light was a game of mere inches. Ben Clifford did an outstanding job and even went to the trouble of touching up the paint so that the lag screws didn't show. I can't thank him or recommend him enough.

Interestingly, within about 15 minutes of the truck pulling out, a hummingbird flew in to have a look. I was on the phone with Tim and his first thought was that the bright colors brought him in (this is most likely the correct answer). My first thought was that the hummingbird was probably angry (or worse, seriously disappointed) that there wasn't a hummingbird included in the design.


Hmmm, maybe I should get that ladder out...

Lifeguard Still On Duty

Although traditionally pools close after Labor Day, our pool will stay open. It's still very warm and we are enjoying the luxury of floating around in the cool water. We are also supplying water to hoards of bees. Most are our honey bees (at least we are assuming they are ours), but we are also being visited by at least two other varieties of bees that look similar to honey bees (we are assuming they are wild honey bees), several smaller bees, a large black bee and some wasps. Our hive is situated between two ponds, albeit the little pond is dry, but maybe the water from the larger, but drought stressed pond is such that they prefer the chlorinated pool water. I suppose it could possibly be a salt issue, but I'm going to leave the chemistry to the pros.


The problem with bees drinking from the pool is not fear of them stinging us or being weirded out by the incredible noise as over 100 swarm around at peak times, but that some hit the water and can't get back out. My afternoons are spent tossing them life preservers (my fingers) and holding them as they dry off and are able to fly away to the nearby pine trees to regroup. While I have not been able to save them all, I probably handle 40-50 per day. I've only been stung once, and as usual, that was my fault.


Some bees fly off as soon as you lift them out of the pool. Some are very particular and go over every speck of their body to remove every trace of water before they take off. Now I'll be the first to admit to not enjoying a shower from a dog climbing out of a pond or bath, but a bee shower is a different story. You'd be surprised how much water they'll throw from their wings and you can actually feel the air move as they prepare for flight.

While I'm not saying everyone should be running around picking up bees, but if you do see one in a bad spot, I hope you will do what you can to help. They are having enough trouble these days and without their crop pollination, we are all in big trouble. You never know, they might reward you with a magical bee shower.

Spider Woman

I've been working through several books trying to learn about my new camera. One book interviews a well known photographer and asks what they enjoy most about photography. He or she replied "so I can see what I normally could not see." And it's true! I see hundreds of these tiny, dew covered webs all over my fields every summer morning and have never gotten past the "little red dot" of a spider. Here is one web, all 2 1/4 inches of it:

A closer look at the artist:

Even better, we got a tiny amount of rain the other evening and I grabbed my camera and headed out. I thought I was taking pictures of the droplets of water on a pine branch, but what I actually captured was this tiny, tiny spider, revealed to me only after I had come in and downloaded it to my computer. Revealed to you only if you follow the link to a bigger view. What magic!

I could take hundreds of pictures of my friendly spiders inside and out. I've never questioned my fascination with them. How could you ever really look at a spider's web and not be completely fascinated. While I don't really want them actually crawling across my hand, I'm more than willing to live and let live and watch from afar (or up close with a 200mm lens ;-).

Sometimes you just have to pay attention to see where you fit in the world. As a collector of intricately woven bird nests and an avid spider watcher and protector, it came as no surprise that I felt right at home when I took my first weaving lesson and learned about the real Spider Woman. But, more about her in another post.

Tomato Talk

I always find cool writing spiders in my garden. They don't bother me at all and I feel just horrible if I don't notice them as I'm sticking my hand in to grab a tomato and destroy their entire night's work.

Tim's brother can catch flies with his bare hands (no foolin'). Last summer when they were visiting, we captured some great video of him tossing flies into one of our spider's webs. While I admit it did sort of have a feeling of playground cruelty, it was truly facinating to watch the spider work. Maybe this is one of her children.

I Have No Excuses

There's been plenty to post, but I just haven't gotten it done. Sigh. For a little (more) catch up, I am thoroughly enjoying my new camera, a Nikon D40x. I missed so many good shots of various birds, and especially Woodstock, with the little camera, that I decided it was time to move up. I got this shot of Woodstock from inside the house, through a glass door.

This shot of Ewenice and the boys I took from WAY up at the barn as the sun was going down. Note to Ewen - I have a big zoom, so I can watch you from afar. Actually, as time goes on, Ewen has become not the worst behaved sheep we have - now that's a designation for you. When something's going down, you can bet Boudreaux (the brown sheep between Ewenice and Buddy) is leading the pack.

And this little flower came up under the bird feeder. Maybe Woodstock planted it just for us :-).

Catching Up

I'm in the middle of several cool projects, but in the meantime:

I made this. This is a big accomplishment - I am not a good knitter. I am so not a good knitter that after starting this several times and being completely frustrated, I decided to weave it, which I did. It was very pretty. However, I felt really guilty because I didn't stick with the original project, so I unwove it, got some bamboo needles and... Whew!

Tim and I installed this (notice how hazy the picture looks - that's from the unbelievable heat and humidity - fogged up my camera).

And Woodstock is doing just fine out in the big world. I usually spot him at least once a day at the feeder and it makes my day. Go Woodstock!

Graduation

After a night resting from his first venture into the big world, Woodstock was up and ready to go. I spent a good part of the day working in the room nearest the feeder so I could monitor the activity out there. Since he'd seemed thirsty the day before, I moved his old water bowl out where he could find it, and he came around several times. Once I was able to catch a picture of him hanging with some of his buds.

I was nervous when I didn't see him in the evening, but hoped that maybe he was so smart that he'd realized that if he came around at that time again, he might get caught and have to spend another night looking geeky in his cage.

Bright and early this morning I thought I saw a familiar face poking around under the grape arbor. He's still darker than the other doves, but it was hard to say for sure since he was in the shade. Then, he ventured over to the water bowl and got a drink. He'd made it!

"Oh, the places you'll go!" (A little good Dr. Seuss karma). Go well, little Woodstock. I'll keep the water bowl out as long as you need it and the feeder will always be full.