We've had actual winter weather here. Our deck is not wet but is covered in many little beads of ice. Some counties around here have cancelled school for a half inch or more of snow!
Two days ago Mark told me that two strange dogs came to our yard and one of them, a little white dog, played and had a great time with Bluew. The other, a small terrier type, cautiously sat back and watched. I can only assume that our Ms Ginger stayed indoors with her magic purple ball.
Perhaps Ginger is a living model of that great saying, "Life is what happens while your busy making other plans". She is always so focused on her ball, from 6 am to 9:30 pm that she can hardly stand to be out side, she can barely stop to drink water or go to the bathroom or eat. These are things we coax her towards, but always she wants to be with her ball and give it her entire focus. Also in this way I suppose she is also a wonderful illustration of Codependence in that she does not think the ball is o.k. if she is not watching it. So much so that she does not enjoy her own experiences with grass and sunshine. I suppose in this way what we as a species have bred into sheep herding dogs is the emotional imbalance of codependence.
That being said, Bluew had a wonderful play time and spent his Sunday sun bathing on the deck and Ginger dedicated her gifted mind to caring for and watching after her rubber ball... and to her I hope that was satisfaction.
Sometime on Saturday as I was walking around the yard, trying to keep Ginger from running back to the house to watch her ball through the back door, I heard a lovely bird call. I hear a Eastern Meadowlark. Eastern Meadowlarks can be as hard to find as Blue Birds because true, undisturbed feilds and meadows are very hard to find. Wildfires are not allowed to create more open spaces and most others are farmed or developed. I believe we live very close to the gift of an extended meadow. The pipeline on the back side of our property is mowed once every year and that is all. I can not be developed. Therefore it has no trees, crops, or builidings but a true variety of bugs and wild flowers.
I heard my first Eastern Meadowlark last fall and I was thrilled. Several weeks after hearing it however I found a dead Meadowlark in the far back part of the yard (a part of the yard that will become the orchard). This find confirmed my identification of the bird through its song but also depressed me. So hearing another one this weekend was wonderful. I was able to also stalk the bird and get close enough to get a visual ID (all the while calling to Ginger to keep her from sneaking back to the back door).
Check this really cool link to see and hear a Eastern Meadowlark:
http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i5010id.html
Also save this link in your favorites, it is a wonderful tool for Bird ID Confirmation:
http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/infocenter.html
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