Thursday, June 30

Lunch with Lance...

We enjoyed  a great lunch with Lance today. He has wanted us to come over and see a  little Killdeer that has made her nest right in the middle of the driveway. Now this is one crazy bird, doesn't she know there are 3 cats and 2 dogs that could easily destroy her little family in a heartbeat?!?!?  She has 4 eggs and with a little luck they will hatch in 24-28 days.
Lance also has a funny little wiener dog named "Dash" this little dog put on a swimming show for us, as you will see in the photos.   As usual, I wandered around snapping photos, so enjoy!
Tomorrow I will update you on the dog condo. Stay cool.......

Mrs. Killdeer

her 4 little eggs


sitting on her eggs


Lance's windcharger


some of Julie's pretty lilies


Here's DASH


Jasper


Go Dash Go!!


Swimmers

One of Shaylee's trees


one pooped power pup


Saturday, June 25

making progress....

We spent most of the day working on the new project. The photos will show that we had some help from the girlz...after all the project is for them, and they should help out a little.
Ron and I are doing a 25 mile bike ride tomorrow morning and then it's back to the project.  Enjoy your sunday.

checking out the new door of the condo

Gracie says...her side of the condo is nice!!

Schatzie taking a break from all the construction

looks like somebody got in the paint.....

Thursday, June 23

a new baby monk seal....

Just had to share this great news. Our friends Barbara and Robert found momma (Ewa Girl) and her new pup in a remote area on Oahu yesterday. This find was a dream come true for Barbara, she has wanted to find a new pup and momma on a beach forever. Although this pup is not a newborn, it is probably a week to 10 days old, I can only imagine their excitement as they identified momma and watched the pair.  Momma was smart as she is in an area that is restricted and the general public are unable to reach the pair to disturb them. :)  I will post other photos as I receive them. You can also check out my favorite blog for more pictures and information. http://www.monksealmania.blogspot.com/ 
Cheers for another birth of an endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal  :) and thanks to Barbara and Robert for their endless dedication and love for the monk seals. 

Ewa Girl and her new pup!!
 val :)

Wednesday, June 22

project # 513

well I don't really know if it's project number 513 but, this is our (I should really say Ron's) next project. I have been working at the dental clinic this past week and Ron has been here on the ranch catching up with a number of projects that have been on his Git-r-done list. He's been on the internet researching and making plans since monday. The actual bones of the projects started taking shape last nite in the garage. Not going to tell you what this project is, going to see if anybody can guess...I will try and post photos at various stages in the process.  It's going to be very cool and not to mention BIG.....
the next project

a view from the top

the girlz taking Ron for his morning walk!!  :)
Oh, a couple inquired about the little bird yesterday, it's a wren!! She really sings a song in the a.m. 
Enjoy your thursday,
val   :)

Tuesday, June 21

peek.....

Update on Suzy and Sam....last week I noticed that the pair were very unsettled flying around their nest. The eggs should have hatched over the weekend. While they were away from the nest for a short time, I peeked inside the nest thinking I would find several new little birds. Unfortunately, I found an empty nest...3 of the 5 eggs were laying on the patio floor. Don't know what happened, but our poor little birds lost their brood. They are still hanging around, so maybe they will try again and we'll have some birds later in the summer.

In the mean time we continue to have some beautiful rains, mow the lawn, tend to the garden, remove more dead fish from the pond :( and enjoy all the wildlife on our little ranch.

a new little feathered friend


Saturday, June 18

Suspect in custody....

On the afternoon of June 18 we found evidence of what appears to be a "digger" in our yard. We found 2 suspects on the premises, however one seems to be more suspicious than the other. Photos show damage done by suspect(s)!!  Do the mug shots tell the story or was someone framed?!?!!? 
Digger Damage


Crime Scene

Suspect or accomplice????


#1  Suspect


Profile shot of suspect, she claims she was framed and demanding legal counsel....:)

I will update you tomorrow on Suzy and Sam....  :( 
  

Wednesday, June 15

Do I have a fish story for you....

On Monday we had the unpleasant experience of removing over 200 dead fish from our pond. We believe we had an algae bloom, thus depleting the oxygen in the water and killing most of the larger fish. We lost approximately 160 bluegil, 20 large mouth bass, 20 crappie and 1 very large catfish.  The 100 degree temps we had last week along with some rain that probably washed some fertilizer into the pond created the "perfect bloom."  We have noticed hundreds of small fry, so we didn't lose all the fish, however it will take sometime before they are "eating size"
As you can see we had some supervisors during the event...interestingly they had NO interest in eating, smelling or even rolling around on these dead fish!! Strange, especially for Gracie, cuz we all know she'll eat anything.   We later buried the fish in the pasture.
**double click on photo if you want to see a larger image...
 Preparing for operation dead fish removal


Gracie, making sure fish all lined up straight


They sure look proud don't they??


Saturday, June 11

my AHA moment......




We enjoyed a beautiful rain yesterday. I had an AHA moment as I watched little Suzy and Sam during the rain. In observing their nest construction a couple weeks ago I noticed  they seemed to have had a construction miscalculation. If you notice in the first picture, there seems to be a construction mistake to the right of the nest, this is where my AHA moment comes in! During the rain I looked out to find Sam on the "mistake" this is NO mistake, you see this is a small perch for dad when it's raining!! See second photo... A perfect spot for Sam to hang out near Suzy during the rain. Stupid humans....the birds know what they are doing!! As for the eggs, they should begin hatching a week from today. 
After the rain I found these two doves sitting on my compose bin in the garden. Love the shot of Schatzie during our evening walkabout. 
Gotta get out and enjoy the beautiful day...til next time!!
notice little spot on the right side of nest

it's a perch for Sam!!

Doves in the garden

Schatzie


Friday, June 10

rumble, rumble, rumble....


As I write this blog this morning I hear thunder rumbling to the west.  A rain shower would be most appreciated!! Just posting a couple of photos today. One of a spider web I shot the other morning while there was a light dew on the web. I found the web so amazing, so delicate yet strong! The other shot was taken a couple nights ago, the Arizona wildfires has given us some absolutely beautiful sunset shots. Enjoy the day.....

Thursday, June 9

Happy Birthday to R.F. Bloy!!!

Sending birthday wishes to Ron's dad on his 78th birthday!!  Wishing you a blessed day. Hope to see you in the near future.
Special Note: Ron's dad loves Formula One Racing, found this fun cake on the internet. Tried to find the 57 corvette, but had no luck.  ;)
Love,
Ron, Val and the Girlz

Sunday, June 5

fish....it's what's for dinner!!

Hi,
Quite warm here in Nebraska today. Just taking a quick break from planting the remainder of our garden.

The boys went fishing yesterday afternoon, catching around 100 bluegill and bass, some restocked Lance's pond and the other made it to the dinner table.

My sister has given names to our little swallow couple, they will now be referred to as Suzy and Sam~~ cute~!  Speaking of the little couple, I checked the nest this a.m. and we now have egg #5...sure hope she quits soon, cuz that's going to be a very full nest. No picture of them today, momma wasn't too happy about me being near the nest.
Anyhow, need to get back to the garden.....


notice....... 4 legged helpers

couldn't find my electric knife

frying.....

Gracie ~~ I like fish.....

view from the swing

sunset last nite 6.4.11

Saturday, June 4

another day....means another egg!!

Yep, found another egg in the nest this morning. So far we have 4 eggs, it's going to be a very busy little nest once they hatch. I'm guessing she will have one more egg and then the incubation period will start. I was able to capture a couple photos of mom and dad today away from the nest.
As I wandered around the yard I snapped a few other shots of life on the ranch....enjoy!!



mom

dad


mom on nest

One of the many apples on the tree.  They are about the size of a walnut right now.
Tiny  little peaches, they are a  little bigger than an almond.




onion tops


if she's not in the water she's hiding in the grass, gotta love her!!