The other day I read a piece saying we should age with “wisdom and grace.” That’s a lovely sentiment but my rambunctious inner puppy says it’s not for us. It’s too sober and sedate. It prefers Booth Tarkington’s,
Better to be happy than wise. Cherish all your happy moments, they make a fine cushion for old age.
Yes! That works for me. I can use all the cushions I can get.
July 6, 2024
I have to keep reminding myself to drink water, otherwise I forget. Looking at the green hills helps.
They remind me how much difference a little water can make.
July 5, 2024
and lack thereof. So our area has gobs of coyotes and few sightings of gray foxes. Could there possibly be a connection? Yes. Apparently in rural areas coyotes harass and kill gray foxes, so the foxes mostly live in heavily forested areas, where they can climb trees and be safe. Or else they move to urban areas, where there’s plenty of food for both species and they pretty much ignore one another.
Who would have guessed?
Tree Cover Helps Gray Foxes Coexist With Coyotes in the Country
PS Happy Fourth of July, everyone!
July 4, 2024
We had more rain Monday evening:
Enough to make the dog park under the bedroom window muddy:
But fortunately for the dog owners it had dried up by yesterday:
July 3, 2024
Yesterday’s post made we wonder if we even have foxes around here. We all know about the coyotes, we’ve seen and heard them a lot more than once. But foxes? I can’t recall anyone even mentioning them.
The Valles Caldera National Preserve is only a few miles from last Tuesday’s walk, so I checked to see if they mention gray foxes. (The pups were clearly not red foxes.) I was surprised that this report says personnel have occasionally seen them. But they’re clearly not as ubiquitous as the coyotes, who are listed as one of the main attractions for wildlife viewers.
Was this worth the time I spent looking for that answer? I think so. In this case the answer itself wasn’t that important, but sometimes it is. There have been times that the internet has been a real blessing for Andy and me. And it takes practice to find reliable information. Plus it’s healthy to be curious, ask questions, and look for answers.
The internet is my window to the world.
July 2, 224
These are the first three pictures in the Flickr album of Beate’s pictures of the walk last Tuesday:
On her Facebook page Beate asked if the pups were foxes or coyotes. I vote for coyotes.
Baby fox:
There are a lot more cute pictures at wallpapercave.com.
Baby coyotes:
I vote for coyotes, they have longer legs than foxes, and foxes often have a white tip on their tail. What do you think? (If you would like more information, click here.)
July 1, 2024
The rain was welcome, but it’s too bad it had to come when this group was having a picnic. At least they were dry and could use the grills under the roof.
Some of them didn’t leave until after 9 p.m., so it must have been a success in spite of the weather.
June 30, 2024
Beate, Tim and Andy took another walk Tuesday.
After they finished I received an email from Beate:
no bloodshed
We had a good Las Conchas outing, no accidents and the rain waited until we were nearly home.
Pictures on Dropbox after lunch.
Beate
That was nice to hear.
There are a lot more pictures in this Flickr album.
Thanks again, Beate!
June 29, 2024
Guess what we saw yesterday afternoon?
It didn’t rain for very long, but it was enough to cool things off and make us happy.
June 28, 2024
Andy brought this picture home yesterday:
We have peonies! Two of them and more coming. 🙂
June 27, 2024
