All 4 of them

I managed to capture the inside animals, all 4 of them, but no luck with the ducks yet.

If you want the video version of the WoodMan preparing for takeoff, you will have to find me on Facebook. He was truly enjoying the winds from the south, since they brought with them the fragrances from the recently emptied pig pen.

Cyrus and Willie have been joining me in bed in the morning while I try to catch up on my lost hours of sleep. I think they are jealous of all the attention to the Woods. He is still waking me up a few times every night to go out, but at least now he goes back to sleep when he is done.

Monkey spends most of the day downstairs. Sometimes he makes himself a little cat wrap on the sofa, just waiting for someone to sit on him. Willie has recently been very brave about joining him. He had been a totally upstairs cat since we brought home that hound dog in 2012. Only recently did he discover all the fun and cookies to be had if he comes down to play with us.

He is in my lap right now helping me type. He needs help with his spelling.

 

Fine craftsmanship

I posted earlier about some beaver work near the spot where I do the water testing. In the large photo, that would be off to the right at the top. The Husband assured me there was more extensive evidence of beavers at work upstream just a bit, and how right he was!

This is the same spot where they had a dam a few years ago that got washed away. Now they are hard at work restoring their home. (I think the red tree is a wild cherry—quite beautiful even in this sad condition. If any tree lovers know better, please ID for me.)

I set up the trail camera on the large tree in the last photo aiming toward the creek and the dam. I hope to get a few photos of the beavers at work in the next week or so before that tree comes down as well.

The real reason for walking down there today was in search of the mystery white duck with a black head that I have seen recently. Too hard to identify, even with binoculars, from the house. I saw it and its mate just before they flew off. The trail cam should catch them too if I aimed it properly. 

The white one was definitely a Common Merganser, according to my Sibley Guide to Birds. The male is only that color from November through July, breeding season, and its head is dark green, not black. The female had the more common coloring for mergansers, mostly gray plumage, with a reddish brown head and a red beak.

So next post will hopefully have some duck and maybe even duckling pics (fingers crossed!) and I will post a Woody update as well. Getting him off the prednisone altogether may be the answer to all the problems he and I have had in the last few weeks.

Better WoodMan and turkey visitors

After consulting with our local vet, we have learned that most of the problems Woody has had in the past week and a half are because of the high dose of prednisone he was prescribed. Drinking too much water, waking up to go out 3 or 4 times a night, constantly begging for food even just after he finishes eating. Dr. Powers cut the dose in half on Friday, and the WoodMan is much improved already. He is almost back to his normal crazy self, and I am almost back to getting a full night's sleep. Almost...

I was happy to have 2 sleeping dogs yesterday afternoon when the turkey parade came for a visit. I find it interesting that they always seem to wander in single file. They are the largest birds I have had so far at the bird feeder. :)

And yes, we still have more than enough snow.

Woody says he's not that blue

Woody says he's not all that blue. He even gave up his blue bed so that the cats could enjoy the sun (which has been hard to find this long winter)!

With the meds he is on, he seems to be doing just fine. He proved that by singing with Gillian Welch last night—trying to convince us that those spare ribs in the oven (that The Husband cooked!) were truly ready to eat. Hungry and crazy as ever. That's my boy!

Blue Woody

Just about everything in this picture is blue, including the WoodMan. We found out after a rough day for him on Friday, and a trip to the emergency vet, that he has an aggressive cancer.

With the meds they sent us home with he is almost back to his normal self, but we don't know how much longer he has. When he stops being his normal (crazy) self, we will know that his time has come.

This black hen comes down the long icy driveway just about every day, mostly by herself. She is a believer that spring is here, in spite of the icy driveway. 

Woody will be happy for spring, because I might just let him go off-leash for some more good romps. We are all looking forward to plenty of romping in the spring!

The Poser, the Snow Dog, and Zoom Kids

Woody is always willing to pose for his photos, as long as he is not outside in the cold or the rain.

Cyrus, aside from being a black dog who doesn't photograph well, is rarely a willing subject. If I haven't mentioned it 100 times already, he loves the cold. Today it was 16° and windy. Cyrus insisted on sitting outside, in the shade on the porch, in the snow that had blown in there. Sunny, clean, warm wood floor just inches away, but no, let me lie in the snow.

Still holding at 12 goat kids. Visitors are coming frequently for free goat kisses. The little brown girl (with Nancy) is the best goat poser (and the best kisser). She and I even joined a Zoom meeting with my sister at the University of Oregon. As you can see in the smiles in the other Zoom boxes, she was well received.