Monday Musings ~ June 8, 2026

OES Picnic snacks
OES themed snacks

Happy Monday, peeps. We enjoyed the rescue picnic over the weekend although a smaller than usual group attended. There was a rodeo just down the road from where the picnic was held and I’m sure there were many other events that competed with our get together but I think we did decently well with the silent auction baskets and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Here are a few photos from the event.

It’s never easy getting everyone in the frame let alone getting them to look at the camera. It’s always for a good laugh though.

As you can see it was a glorious day, but very hot. Most folks hung out in the shade.

OES picnic 2026

OES picnic - 2026

OES picnic - 2026
Playtime for sheepies while their parents bid on the silent auction gift baskets.

There were lots of wrestling matches and/or dashes around the acreage, but everyone was well behaved. A small doggie pool was set up that helped cool off panting sheepies and frequently turned into a good sized drinking fountain for them. Trust me, that sight was not pretty since as soon as dogs cooled off in the pool and took a long drink, they were back chasing one another. The dirt build up in the bottom of the pool required multiple cleanings. Too bad we didn’t have something as pretty as this one.

Monday smile

Temperatures reached 90F (32.2C) and let me tell you, it was hot whenever you were in the sun. I was ‘James Brown hot’ with sweat pouring down my face despite wearing a wide brimmed hat.

Monday smile

All in all, everyone had a great time (Wilson opted to stay at home to avoid being too stimulated with all the high energy from the attending sheepdogs) but he apparently had a good time too. He was a good boy and didn’t get into anything.

Wilson

We hope you had a terrific weekend. Stay cool and enjoy a fabulous week.

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ June 5, 2026

Wilson Chewed up coasterHappy Friday, folks. Wilson here. We have been busy this week. Mum is getting ready for our annual sheepdog picnic/fundraiser and sadly, I’m had to spend a lot of time entertaining myself after my walks. But apprently I’m not happy about being left to my own devices while Mum is working on getting the gift baskets ready for the picnic. I don’t know, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. But I was contrite when Mum saw it. My head went down quicker than a bad day on the stock market. Mum knows I had no idea what I was doing, us dogs don’t feel guilt like our humans think we do. Still I know I disappointed her and for that, I’m sorry. Ok, maybe not all that so sorry, but here we are. Anyway, we’re joing our pals from the Adventures of the LLB Gang. Be sure to click on the link to see what others are sharing.

Wilson: So we had a couple of days of light rain in our neighborhood. Oh my giddy aunt! In Denver however, things got real. There was major downpour in downtown and hailstones fell like crazy (see a video here). A family from Aurora posted a photo of an alligator they created from all of the hail. Bulldozers had to be called in to shovel it off roadways and one woman was rescued at a gas station because the hail and fast moving water was running so deep. Holy cow!

Hail alligator

The Mum: That was quite the weather event. It was nice to receive some moisture but I’m sure the northern third of Denver and eastern suburbs feel differently. Currently those nice temperate days are definitely in the rear view mirror. It’s back to hot temps. Yesterday the thermostat hit 88F (31C) and it’s forecast to be hotter during the next week. Bet you’re glad that you were groomed with a summer cut, aren’t you, House Pony?

Wilson: Absolutely. We’ve had to take our morning walks at the crack of dawn. I know you’d like to sleep in a bit as much as me but we need to get cracking to avoid the heat. It’s disrupting my chi, Mum.

The Mum: I know, buddy and yes, I’m not happy about it either but we just have to accept that’s the way El Niño rolls…hot temps, with lots of moisture. ‘Course with those hot temps, it makes our statewide drought worse. It’s a vicious cycle. Anyway, not much we can do about it. What else do you have for us?

Wilson: Well, the weird weather didn’t keep us from finding a few pretty flowers from around the ‘Hood early in the mornings. I think I’m going to look at this next photo often while it’s hot. It’s so calming and gives me a nice cooled off feeling. Not that I will start liking water, mind you, Mum…so don’t get any ideas but I think it’s a refreshing place along the trail to pause and enjoy.

Creek

The Mum: No, I get it. I feel the same way. That view is from one of the bridges we cross  and it always makes me want to stop and inhale deeply to relax even more during our walks. Best time of the day crossing that bridge and seeing that runoff rushing into the creek from the canal.

Wilson: Right! That’s what I’m talking about. I did rather enjoy the new route we took this week to see what kind of gardens other folks have. This front garden was especially pretty.

Garden flowers

The Mum: This was such a pretty front garden and they had a couple of fun signs in the middle of it. Everything was neat as a pin and fairly formal.

Wilson: And then there was this gorgeous clematis. So full and vibrant. Much more so than the ones we had at our old house. Yours never did bloom that much.

Clematis

The Mum: No, I don’t think I really gave mine enough water and with the shade from the silver maple, well I just don’t think they ever liked the conditons where they were planted.

Wilson: It’s ok, Mum. We have lots to see on our walks. I really enjoyed passing this large clump of blue flax in the area between the path and the creek very near the spot where that coyote was seen. Looks like Mother Nature was moving ‘furniture’ again. She sure finds the oddest places to put flowers, doesn’t she?Blue flax

The Mum: Well I don’t mind, it’s rather fun finding what she thinks is a good spot for flowers. Last week it was the Gaillardia (blanket flower) and this week, it’s this flax. Nature sure has an interesting way of moving things around.

Wilson: Nature provides us with some beautiful sights, like last night’s sunset. The clouds gathered up and swirled and it looked like it might rain a bit. But alas, it was just a tease. Still, it was very lovely. Well, that’s it for us. Please make sure you get outside this weekend and have a great weekend enjoying all that Nature shares with us. Since Mum is busy again today with picnic preparations for the rescue’s fundraiser, we may not be able to respond for a while but she’ll do her best. After the picnic, she’ll be getting ready for her sister from Texas to come visit next week. No rest for the wicked and the righteous don’t need it, right. So which one is she? Have a great weekend.

Sunset

PicnicThe Mum: Wish us lots of luck at the picnic! It’s always interesting herding all those Floofs.

Nature

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Memorial Day – 2026

Memorial DayToday is Memorial Day in the U.S. where we remember and honor all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice serving their country. Now a national holiday,  it was originally known as Decoration Day back in the years following the Civil War and only became known as Memorial Day in 1968 and Congress added it as a three-day weekend for federal employees in 1971.

On May 30, 1868 General John A. Logan, head of a Union veteran association spearheaded the decoration of the graves of fellow comrades who died in defense of their country. Many of the Northern states held commemorative events and reprised the tradition in subsequent years so that by 1890 each one had made “Decoration Day” an official state holiday. Still bitter about the loss in the Civil War, many southern states refused to officially recognize the day until after WWI and many southern states (Texas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Tennessee) held separate days honoring their Civil War hero’s. Memorial Day did not become the preferred name after World War II.

Memorial Day is also the ‘unofficial’ beginning of summer and as is often the case, been turned into a shopping fest. We however, will mark the day with quiet reflection. Have a safe holiday.

Wilson - Memorial Day

Live, love, bark!  🐾

Nature Friday ~ May 22, 2026

Wilson - LoraxGreetings mates, Wilson here sporting my best Lorax poise. I woke up with a bit of bed head but you can be sure while I’m not small or orange, I am mustachioed and I do speak for the forest by making sure I water trees every chance I can. Mum laughed at me but I couldn’t figure out why. Then I looked in a mirror. Egad, that must have been quite the dream I was having. All I remember was I received a rather heavy handed shove. Apparently I was in the midst of a dog pile early yesterday morning. Mum has been complaining about waking up and being at the bottom of the pile. Doesn’t she know I need to be right next to her though I prefer being on top of her.

The Mum: You have been a bit too much lately. As in heavy as all get out. There’s nothing like waking up unable to breath because there’s a House Pony crushing your throat or chest.

Wilson: Oh Mum, you’re exaggerating. A little. Ok, so you’re accurate but I love you and want to show you how much.

The Mum: Being the object at the bottom of the dog pile is not my idea of a good time. We have to have a serious discussion about it. Your constant squashing has reached a point where we need to set up some rules about it.

Wilson: Rules-shmules. I love you and am just showing you my affection.

The Mum: Well perhaps you could love me just a teeny tiny bit less? I’d be very grateful and might even consider relaxing the “no dogs on the sofa” rule in effect in the living room as a compromise.

Wilson: {grumbling under his breath} You’re being too dramatic, Mum. Why can you just enjoy all my beautiful floofy love?

The Mum: You mean enjoy the fur in my mouth or an elbow in a rib or your head across my throat? Gee, what was I thinking?

Wilson: {shaking his head} Blimey…Mums can be so persnickity. Anyway, we can do all that negotiating behind the scenes. I’ve got slices of nature to share. As we always do, we’re joining the gang from Adventures of the LLB Gang and encourage you to click on the link to see what others have shared from their neighborhoods.

The Mum: Fine, we’ll discuss this politely later this afternoon. Just know it’s spring, the pollen count is high and I have a hard enough time breathing. Just something for you to consider as we come to an agreement about this ‘dog pile’ thing.

Wilson: {ignoring the last comment} Well, we received some rain this week and boy howdy, was that something. It rained all night and all day on Monday, and sprinkled during different parts of all the other days. I looked a little bit like a drowned rat even with my rain jacket on and you trying your level best to keep me under the umbrella which scared me.

The Mum: Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you, I was just trying to keep your head as dry as possible. We both got pretty soaked Monday but our other rainy walks weren’t as bad. Everything is lusciously green and because I protected the herbs and potted tomato plant, they all survived the freeze warning we had earlier in the week.

Wilson: Things do look quite lovely. As the neighborhood Lorax, I’m glad to see everything got watered without my help. Just look at Exhibit A.

Iris

The Mum: Those iris clumps are planted along the strip between the sidewalk and street around the neighborhood and I love the pops of color. This was one of the few moments where we had decently sunny conditions. Most of the week was shrouded in clouds. We’re headed for a bit of a warm up for the Memorial Day weekend but have been told there is potential for more rain next week. I remain somewhat skeptical but we’ll see. If it happens, we’ll gladly accept any moisture.

Wilson: I enjoyed sniffing through the wildlife habitat area at the golf course. You couldn’t ask for a more sniffable landscape. The ground smelled of moisture with lots of decayed leaves. It was awesome. Mum tried to hurry me along to keep from getting too wet but my snooter just couldn’t get enough. There’s nothing like damp conditions and decaying leaves. The aroma was practically peaty. Mum frequently tries to get in some parkour on this log but I was too interested in sniffing around it. Those grass seed heads were way too interesting for me to think about climbing up on that big log. Don’t they look like they’d make a cool woven piece of artwork?

Grasses

The Mum: Our walks were so delightful. There wasn’t anyone out walking on the rainiest day so we wandered to our hearts content without being an obstacle along the path. It was terrific.

Wilson: The potted hibiscus Mum received on Mother’s Day was a pretty happy camper too. Mum is always amazed how much more beautiful plants are when they receive even a little bit of rain. Rain makes everything look so much better so we were quite chuffed on that day when we received a nice gentle, soaking rain.

Hibiscus

The Mum: It really is quite remarkable seeing how much of a difference a little rain can impact plants. A couple of days ago we found some beds that had been recently planted with annuals at intersections in the golf course community. I’m a big fan of ornamental cabbage so I’m looking forward to seeing this all summer long. They’re small now but this week’s rain will give them a good start.

Ornamental cabbage

Wilson: You’re so right, Mum…a little bit of rain makes garden plants look fantastic.

Fountain

The Mum: Even the snapdragon seeds that I sprinkled in a pot earlier this month managed to germinate and are doing nicely. These little plants will provide a nice pop of color by the back door area and the potted Roma tomato appears to be in good shape with a couple of tiny tomatoes emerging this week.

Snapdragon seedlings

Tomato plant

Wilson: Well, that’s about it for us this week. It’s Memorial Day weekend in the U.S. and we will honor all those who paid the ultimate price for serving their country. You can read our post from last year here for a historical background. Memorial Day is the unofficial start of the summer season. We’re planning a low key get together with the family. With gas prices so high, we aren’t planning on doing much driving any time soon. What are your plans for the holiday? Did you have a good week? Whatever you do, we hope you are able to enjoy some slices of Nature. Have a safe holiday and enjoy the long weekend.

Nature

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ May 15, 2026

WilsonWelcome mates…Wilson here. Notice a thief stole my fur. Mum said I was beginning to look like Sasquatch and needed a bath so she took me to the grooming shop for a bath and groom. P{lease also notice my disapproving look. Miss Sydney is always very sweet and loving but I just don’t like baths. I guess if it keeps Mum happy, I’ll get over it but in the meantime, I’ll cry like a baby and shake like a leaf. Mum says I’m overly dramatic. You might remember that we had a pile of snow last week (if you missed it, you can read about it here) and this week we’ve been in the upper 80’s. These yoyo weather patterns are going to give me a stiff neck. What the dog?! The forecast is calling for some moisture this weekend but we’ll see if any materializes. Anyway…as we do on Friday’s, we’re joining our friends from the Adventures of the LLB Gang blog. Make sure you click on the link to see this week’s slices of Nature from around Blogville.

Wilson: Last week we were going to post a few photos of various plants that were in bloom at the time but then had to switched gears because the snow buried us. Remember those peonies that were in showing buds ready to bloom? Well the 7 inches of snow we received didn’t seem to bother them one bit. Just look at how lovely these beauties continued to bloom this week. You can almost smell their sweet fragrance, can’t you?

Peonies

The Mum: Ahhh, peonies…the queen of the garden is my favorite spring flower and this bush is so very luscious and full. They’re only shortcoming is they don’t bloom long enough for me.

Wilson: They’re quite beautiful, Mum. It looks like Nature boosted many of the flowers with the snow. Just check out these two clematis plants that continue to bloom along our walking route. The purple one is particularly vigorous.

Clematis Clematis

The Mum: That reddish pink one really caught my eye. They both flank a driveway we walk past every day and they wind their way up brick pillars. Those pillars create for a beautiful welcome to visitors and passersby alike.

Wilson:  Just down the lane we found this version of our state flower, the Columbine.

Columbine

The Mum: This Trumpet Vine is starting out the season with a few pretty blooms. In no time, this baby should fill in nicely along the iron fence. It was just a few feet away from the lilac bush below and was the very last bloom on the bush and practically begged to have its picture taken.

Trumpet honeysuckle

Honeysuckle comes in coral to reddish colors and is a great attractor for hummingbirds and other pollinators. Songbirds may eat the berries. The leaves and stems are waxy and the plant can reach 20 feet long, with sturdy support. I learned the plant is very flammable and not recommended for planting near structures. Honeysuckle is cold hardy and can be drought tolerant if the soil is good so it makes for a nice addition to the Colorado landscape.

Lilac

Wilson: Like I mentioned earlier, it’s been pretty warm this week and one evening it started to cloud up. We had hoped for a tiny little sprinkle but it was too warm for any rain to reach the ground. It did however provide for a lovely sunset. There’ll be another six weeks of extended sunshine and then it will begin to grow darker, about a minute per day until autumn begins. Till then we’ll enjoy what Nature shares with us.

Sunset

The Mum: Spring is a lovely time of year but it can be cruel. Just off the golf course we walk through, we came across this robin egg on the ground. I can be sure what happened, perhaps windy conditions made it fall out of the nest. I think it’s the part of spring that may not be kind and gentle.

Robin egg

Wilson: {interrupting} Well, you know what I think, Mum? I think a squirrel probably knocked it out. You know how naughty they are.

The Mum: I’ll admit that’s a possibility. While squirrels are mostly considered  herbivores, they are quite opportunistic omnivores given half a chance. Raiding nests can provide them with much-needed protein, fat, and calcium. It’s a sad reality.

Wilson: It is sad and yet another reason for me to despise them. This just proves they’re total brutes.

The Mum: Calm down, House Pony. Unfortunately, it’s Nature’s way. On the plus side, the shell will eventually break down and add nutrients to the surrounding ground so it’s not a total loss.

Wilson: Sorry Mum, I’m not persuaded. I still don’t like them. Bloody tree rats.

The Mum: Well I understand your strong feelings, I’m certainly no fan, but there’s not much we can do about it now. We can only enjoy the birds that grow up, the flowers that bloom and the beautiful sunrises and sunsets that Nature shares with us.

Wilson: I guess. Still, it was sad. I vow to avenge that little fella’s existence…

The Mum: {interjecting} Ummm, let’s rethink that strategy. Remember revenge is a dish best served cold. I’m sure Nature had a plan and it’s important that we not try to change it. Besides, remember I’m old and need my shoulders to function, thank you very much.

Wilson: Well okay, but only because it’s you. I’ll try to contain my loathing of those vile creatures. So that’s all I have this week. We hope you enjoyed a lovely spring week. Wait…what the heck was that that dashed across our back porch?

The Mum: And just like that, the morning calm is broken as a squirrel ran near the back door and all hell broke loose. Sigh. So much for the earlier promises. We hope you have a wonderful weekend and how no squirrels cross your paths. It’s hard to realize Memorial Day is just two weeks away. Where did May go? Have any fun plans for the weekend?

Nature

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Monday Musings ~ May 11, 2026

We hope all you upright and pet moms had a lovely Mother’s Day. Wilson said our family BBQ was a huge success, in fact, he’s started tracking for the next family get together. Notice he had the dinner timer at the top of his smart watch although I would have expected him to rank the squirrel finder higher.

Monday smile

Here’s hoping your week tracks beautifully. Happy Monday.

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ May 8, 2026

Greetings mates, tis I, Wilson your friendly neighborhood House Pony. Boy have I got some photos to share with you showing Mother Nature at her best or her worst, depending on your opinion. It’s been a wild week but let’s dive in shall we. As always we’re joining those cute pups from Adventures of the LLB Gang for their weekly nature blog. Don’t forget to click on the link to see what others have shared from around Blogville.

Wilson in snow

Wilson: Mum…why do I have to bundle up? I mean keeping me dry is one thing, but you know how I feel about snow boots. Ugh.

The Mum: What? Come on, you look adorable in your booties. And you posed so nicely wearing them…

Wilson: {interrupting while raising his voice} E-nough. I should think that expression says it all. Wearing those hideous things is humiliating, Mum. I hate them.

The Mum: But they sort of keep your feet somewhat dry, well at least drier than if you were stomping around with your furry paddles…and without anything to protect your paws you’d need either a session with a hairdryer or a serious and lengthy mopping up with towels before coming back inside the house. I mop the new floors enough as it is because you’re a such drool machine.

Wilson: Yeesh…you cut me to the quick, Mum. We could argue discuss this all day long. But I’ve got photos to share and we should probably just move along. So as you were able to tell from our discussion and the first photo, it snowed this week (Tuesday and Wednesday). I know a lot of you will be aghast at the thought of snow in May but it’s not all that uncommon in the Rocky Mountain region. The irony to that fact is we received the most snow in May for over 20 years. Look at some of these snow depths through Wednesday.

Snow totals

The Mum: The total in Arvada really surprised me. We all knew a storm was coming but I only expected around 4 inches or so. Fortunately it was a nice wet snow with lots of moisture. I think we received nearly as much moisture over those two days as we’ve received to date this year. We’re still down and the drought is nowhere near gone but this was a nice dent toward improving things.

Wilson: Do you think plants were adversely impacted by that heavy snow?

Spring snow storm
Early morning view of our trees – the shrubs were buried for the most part

Spring snow storm

The Mum: I won’t sugar-coat it, the storm did a fair amount of damage to trees. Cottonwoods which are softwood trees, were particularly hit hard as were many ornamental pear trees around the neighborhood. I went out every 3 or 4 hours to shake off our crabapple trees but along the trail we walk every day, a lot of large and small limbs were broken. Yesterday I was impressed that the city crews were out early cleaning up around the pathway. Most of the larger branches that fell far away from the pathway will be cut up and left to provide habitat to the area’s critters, while those closer to the trail were removed. And a lot of plants were flattened but by yesterday when we were in full melt, they were rebounding. Even these peonies didn’t seem to be worse for wear but they are somewhat protected by the trees around it. Yesterday’s high  was 72F (22C) and more than half of the snow had melted. It was totally crazy. The forecast for the weekend will be in the 70’sF and we may even reach the low 80’sF by Monday. The temperature whiplash is in full force.

Peonies with snow

Wilson: It was absolutely beautiful when we walked and even more quiet than normally. Funny how people don’t want to get out and walk around in it. I’m glad you don’t mind, I just wish I didn’t have to bundle up from head to paw but it was fun checking everything out. The smells were quite remarkable.

The Mum: Even our newly blooming Bachelor Buttons in a large pot survived.

Bachelor Buttons

Wilson: Nature is pretty amazing. But somewhat selective, isn’t she?

The Mum: Pretty much. What other photos did you want to share?

Wilson: Well…how about some photos from the pathway? It was so beautiful and the quiet was palable.

Spring snow storm
Along the southwest side of the golf course
Spring snow
The canal was filling up from its previously low levels
Ralston Creek Trail in snow
Along the creek

The Mum: You managed to curate a fairly representative batch of photos. Well done, House Pony.

Wilson: Thanks Mum. See, I’m not just a pretty face. I can put a few pics together to show off how Nature is truly amazing. I see that Mother’s Day is this weekend and we want to wish everyone a very Happy Mother’s Day. We know not all of you have two feet kids, but you have fur babies so I think you deserve to enjoy the day as well as mums to them. Are you doing anything special for your mum? Whatever you do, we sincerely wish you a wonderful weekend and hope you are able to spend some time enjoying the many sides of Mother Nature. Have a good one, everyone.

Nature

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Monday Musings ~ May 4, 2026

Monday smile

And so the ongoing battle between the 80 lb. quilt continues. I swear this dog rather enjoys ‘busting a move.’ On top of me.

Here’s hoping all your moves this week are pawsome. Happy Monday.

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ May 1, 2026

Pepperweed
Pepperweed

Happy May Day, mates. Wilson here and as always I’m joining our pals from Adventures of the LLB Gang for this week’s Nature Friday blog hop where participants share slices of nature. Be sure to click on the link to see what they and other have posted. As I noted above, today is May Day where traditionally we celebrate the return of spring. May Day, like other early holidays that originated from ancient times, has its emphasis in celebrating the arrival of spring, the season of renewal. Festivities were filled with song and dance with doorways and livestock decorated with yellow May flowers. Historically, children would hold on to colorful ribbons, and dance around a maypole which symbolized fertility and the renewal of life. People would “bring in the May” by gathering wildflowers and green branches, and weave  floral hoops and hair garlands. I told Mum there would be no ‘decorating’ my glorious floofness after she saw a wide swatch of pepperweed which has sprouted near the Ralston Creek trailhead. Thankfully she didn’t argue with me.

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, May Day has its roots in astronomy since it’s the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. It was one of the Celtic cross-quarter days, which marked the midway points between the (four) solstices and equinoxes of the year. Since we don’t have a maypole, we’ll just celebrate by admiring flowers in bloom that we pass on our walks. Mum hasn’t planted anything yet because the risk of frost is still possible but her naturalized Bachelors Buttons are full of buds ready to display their bright cornflower blue flowers soon.

Bachelor buttons

The Mum: Good morning, House Pony…Happy May Day, buddy. After a couple of cloudy days that had a few sprinkles but mostly soft misty conditions, we woke up to clear blue skies but cool temps.

Wilson: Did you encounter rain yesterday when you traveled to Pueblo with your brother to see Grandpa?

The Mum: We did encounter some rain, but nothing too heavy mind you, but every drop was welcomed up and down the Front Range. What I wasn’t expecting was seeing a little bit of white stuff at my brother’s house with more on Monument Hill between Denver and Colorado Springs. It didn’t last long.

Snow in Castle Rock

Wilson: I was glad I stayed home with your son, even though he keeps accusing me of snoring loudly. I. Do. Not. Snore. I rest peacefully. You know that, but why he keeps telling you I snore is beyond me.Wilson

The Mum: I think he just likes to tease you. And even if you do/did snore, so what…you’re snug as a bug snoozing comfortably and that’s all that matters.

Wilson: So we didn’t take a lot of photos this week but we did capture a few photos of some ducks. That was pretty exciting since I know you’d never seen Wood Ducks in person before. The males are really colorful but they are very shy and didn’t seem to want to get to know me very much so I was left out of the photo shoot.

Wood Ducks Wood Ducks

The Mum: I am totally fascinated with Wood Ducks. The colorful males don’t seem real. We still haven’t seen any babies yet but hope they’ll be showing up soon. The males have stunning multi-colored iridescent plumage and red eyes, with a distinctive white flare down the neck. The female are less colorful with a white eye-ring. Both males and females have crested heads. Like other ducks, they do not mate for life but tend to stay seasonally monogamous. I could have watched them for hours but they were very nervous with my presence so after taking a ton of photos, I slipped away and let them feed and swim in the shallow canal.

Wilson: I just don’t understand why ducks don’t like me. Even the Mallards are skittish whenever I’m around.

The Mum: I’m sure they view us both as predators. After all, there are hawks, coyotes and bobcats who make their home along the trail. Don’t take it personally. I had to sneak up on this Mallard and he kept turning away from me keeping a nervous side eye on me. I only managed to capture a couple of pics and they were fairly similar so I only included this one in a sunny spot along the creek.

Mallard

Wilson - Cinco de Mayo

Wilson: Even though the mornings are still cool (in the mid-30’sF 1.66C) we should reach 60F (15.55C) today and are expected to stay sunny all day. The weekend forecast should be dry with perfect temps for celebrating May Day, as well as watching the 152nd running of the  Kentucky Derby and seeing local Cinco de Mayo festivities. So this weekend will showcase lots of fun. What will you celebrate this weekend? Whatever you do, we hope you enjoy and take opportunities to get out in Mother Nature.

 

Nature

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Monday Musings ~ April 27, 2026

Monday smileWilson has found a new treat that he likes. Although he would rather it would have been an apple slice from the charcuterie board leftovers, he was more than game to try a slice of cucumber. What treats do your dogs like?

Wilson

Whatever snack you prefer, we hope it adds to a ‘pawf-fect’ Monday for you.

Live, love, bark! 🐾