It's a bug's life...........

Pssst! It's me...here...on the leaf. Could you get that camera out of my face?

'Nuf Said?

Sunday Serenity

The water is flowing nicely down the spillway at the reservoir.

And to my friends Kathy (today) and Grant (tomorrow).......

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head

Mom went out the other day to take pictures of her wild roses in the back. She's not very happy 'bout them. I know rain is good but look what happened to Mom's roses! The buds are all rotted before they could even open up and smell pretty!

Days in June with rain: 21
Days in June w/o rain: 5

And look at this poor flower. It looks all sad and wilty.

But Mom said there IS hope. Look at this pretty little
bud. If we're lucky, we might get a flower or two.

I said "HEY" Pawpa....Cookie?

Look at me! Is my posture not the best you've ever seen? Mom promised she would post a picture of my new haircut and here it is! (Tee hee hee)

And now for something different

In his dreams, Giz remembers how the downed tree on trail looks when the sun is shining on it and how many grrrreat smells there are along the way. He'd like to see it this way again soon.

Days in June with rain: 19
Days in June w/o rain: 5

Yummo!

I got a cookie when I came home from the groomer. Mom tried to get me to stay still so she could get a picture of my haircut but I took the cookie and scooted. Here I am just finishing up. Maybe tomorrow Mom! (And this time you need to remember to turn the flash on in the house so you gots more pictures to show!)

Grrrrr's to all from Giz

Gizzy goes to the groomer.

Today I'm getting my hair cut. It gets heavy and tangled when it's long and I DON'T like that brush thingy. Grrrrrrrr...I like to bite it and growl. I can run and jump MUCH better when I have short hair. It's been rainy and chilly though so I might have to wear my special Snoopy T-shirt that I wear in the winter. See how good I look! I'll show you my new haircut tomorrow. Hope I don't get goosebumps!

No Swimming!

We went here a few days ago with Pawpa. I'm not much of a swimmer. Actually, I never been swimming and this water is moving pretty fast. You can see...I don't even wanna look at it. Do they make "floaties" for dogs?

Sunday Serenity

Seriously Giz

Squirrel's Patrol

The word goes out from the outpost in the backyard.

Troops arrive from the side yard to take advantage of the lull in hostilities.

Varments 4, Gizzy's Mom 0

Yesterday I went out to pick my first ripe cherry tomato of the year.

Unfortunately, I found no tomatoes left. Whatever ate my tomatoes apparently did not like tomato skins. They left the skin in the pot.

Garden at the Park

The daisies don't care if it's still raining.

Hello Deer

Crows are big gossips. If they see you, they will tell everyone where you are and where you're going. If you listen close enough, you'll know where too. I listened and look who I found. Hello Deer!


It stopped raining long enough to take a walk thru the woods yesterday. I may have been in the woods but she wasn't. She was next door at the feeder. (Now that I've figured out "close-up", I'll need to work on the correct setting for shooting in the woods with little light.)

Beware: Wet Dog

Rain Rain Go Away!

Before and After

I've been so excited about my wisteria. After 3 years, I finally have a flower. That's right, one flower. Just one.

Before

After

Fishing Derby: once a year
Bobbers are FOREVER

Mr. and Mrs. Mallard

The Mallards live at the pond next door.

They come over to dine every day.

Sometimes they bring friends.

What's for lunch?

This is where the chipmunk lives. He's not home right now.

He's out front having lunch.

The tormented hawk

This is the best I could do. (I am so ashamed.) Really. I was tracking a big commotion in the trees and watched the crows, cardinals, and who knows what else divebombing "something". Quite brave of them actually or even maybe stupid considering who they were divebombing. It was a red tailed hawk and if my first movie ever had turned out better, you would have seen the birds trying to chase it away with their divebombing skills. Some of them would actually "whack" it. The hawk just ignored them.

When I got home, the goldfinches were bathing in the stream. "Geez lady, would ya just go AWAY." We're bathing here.....sheesh!


Look at me now Goldie, you've got me all wet!

We left the hill for a while Sunday afternoon to go down by the river where you can find lots of kayakers on warm, sunny days. Giz made friends with a pretty little Shi Tzu who was walking her dad. Gizzy's mom wanted to take some pictures that would test the zoom on her new camera. Both pictures are of the launch ramp for the kayaks and were taken from the same spot. No zoom used for the picture above..(who woulda guessed that?)


Oh, there it is! The ramp where the kayakers and canoers can launch their boats. Pawpa said the people in the canoe on the right were not sitting in the right place. They must have been new at it; they were going in circles.

Giz has asked me to pass along an important message. As much as he would like to respond to Tank's "all paws bulletin" by volunteering for the Whack-A-Squirrel mission, he will be unable to join the ever expanding army (also known as "tankskapades" in the Huckleberry Hill household). He worries that Pawpa would be unable to sleep at night without warm Lhasa fur to keep him warm. After all, Giz stated that he has heard Pawpa say that Mrs. Pawpa steals the covers and leaves his flanks out in the cold. (Let it be noted that Mrs. Pawpa loudly proclaimed her innocence.)

Furthermore, he (Gizzy, not Pawpa) is NOT allowed out of the yard unescorted. Windows are firmly closed as insurance against unsanctioned walk-abouts since 2004 when a previously pristine window screen was found gnawed in the carport and the offender was returned by a friendly neighbor . (How dumb is a box of rocks anyhow?)

The red fox is keeping those pesky squirrels pretty much on the run here in the back yard and Giz has told him to keep up the good work.

The new camera is here! It arrived yesterday and I'm very excited. OK, for those of you who are way more advanced in photography skills than I....I know its "ONLY" a point and shoot but "it's my point and shoot" and I'm in love. I managed to catch the raindrops on the iris with one of my first shots.

I took a picture of a bug on the wild roses that grow next to the walking trail.


I even took a picture of the fish swimming in the reservoir which is stocked with trout every year for the children's fishing derby on opening day in April.


When I returned home, the Giz had found a comfortable spot to rest in the shade. Can you find him?

It's rainy and chilly here today. The birds that like to take a bath in this stream out back are probably sitting on a branch somewhere all puffed up trying to keep warm.

My little garden cart sits wet and lonely by the front steps.

I walked down the driveway today to see if the mountain laurel had started to bloom yet.

I passed my tomato plants on the way. It has flowers. I can hardly wait for ripe tomatoes.

Here are the mountain laurel. When I was young, we always knew summer was here when the laurel bloomed.

I've been trying to take a picture of a regular visitor to the back yard. Sunday, I missed my opportunity because I didn't think to bring my camera when I walked out to the street to grab the Sunday newspaper. I heard the crows harassing "something" and walked back to look. The red fox that comes looking for squirrels in the back was just coming up the path towards me. I held my breath. He (or she) ran.

Today I was outside taking a picture when the racket began. I turned my head and there it was again...the fox... no more than 3 - 4 feet away. The fox was quicker than I was although I think we were equally surprised. I took a picture but my camera is old and lacks "zoom". There is a tiny reddish spot on the picture and that would be "the fox".

My new camera has been ordered and will be delivered on Friday.