Thursday, August 27, 2009

Yes, they are hungry

I really meant to replant that planter now that the bulbs have all died down, and the lobelia has gone... glad the weeds are providing a nice breakfast, it is fast becoming the hungry part of the deer year.

They can act extremely surprised and innocent when caught in the act.

Weather changes...

It drizzled last night, enough to moisten the grass and the flowers and the weeds, enough to tempt the deer back into the garden. Several young fawns nibbling the hostas, cute, very naughty.

This morning; cooler air, clouds, colourful sunrise. Mr Weatherman doesn't know if TS/Hurricane Danny will visit us on Saturday or not. Could be an exciting weekend.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Bella progress report

Things have been much better the past week or so. No more "accidents". Bella can now walk past the Akita House without turning into a Great-Dane-shaped-kite-in-a-strong-wind. And yesterday evening we went for a walk around Center Moriches with a very nice young lady friend. Bella took to her immediately; no shyness, no hiding behind my back; walked straight over and put her head out to be petted. Amazing! And she walked nicely on her leash: she didn't even notice that I'd handed it over for a while, and when she did, she was fine: just kept on walking.

Made me very very happy! :-)

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Keeping me company--Muffin

... making sure I'm working hard. So that I keep earning money. To buy her more food.

Wild hibiscus

All the streets are edged with wild hibiscus this week. They fight their way up among the phragmites, and show their pretty faces to the sun. Many of the homes closest to the water have cultivated large clumps of these pretty flowers--I have my own baby clump in the front garden.
They come in many shades of pink... deep, pale...

... and on one corner, even pure white.

Late summer wetlands wildflowers

Pretty blue-mauve flower

What are these? Are they the flowers that are antidotes to poison ivy? (In England, you often find dock leaves, an antidote, growing close to stinging nettles.)

Lots of ferns, various shapes-and-sizes

... and a tiny little flower, shaped like a cockle, or a broom flower.


Wild jasmine?



Bella and the crab

Yesterday, we had an encounter with a crab. It was at the side of the street near the marina. It is crab season, and Sunday was the Mastic Beach Blue-Claw Crab Festival (and yes, they really do have blue claws), so meeting a crab is not so unusual.

It was a little like a repeat of Bella and the Killer Cucumber, but she was braver this time and more interested, if a little wary, than scared. She jumped back when she first saw it. Then slowly, slowly approached, very low to the ground. Then jumped back again... and crept forwards again. I was proud of her for being so brave!

(The crab was already cooked and empty. It posed no real threat.)

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Hurricane Bill's waves from the nature tower

Amazing, amazing waves.

Hurricane Bill, fun for the brave (or who thought they were)

He was having fun. Especially when a rip tide carried him from left to right across the beach; blink he was over to the left, blink he was over to the right, so fast, rather him-than-me but he really did enjoy it. I hope he got home OK!

Bill and the old bill?

The police were on the beach driving fun vehicles and rounding up people from one part of the beach (which looked safe), and telling them to go to another part (which didn't)... but just seconds after I took this, the two vehicles had to drive right up into the save-the-piping-plover fence, to avoid being given a salty wash.

Bill's waving to us!

Saturday... and Hurricane Bill had sent Long Island some major surf. The air was full of spray; huge breakers roaring into shore. (I could hear them, like an express train, from my house, right across the bay.) Waves like this one would suddenly break the pattern, and rush right up the beach. I wasn't convinced about the brain power of some of the parents who were letting their children paddle--some without close supervision.

Much fun was had running away...

... but you had to be REALLY fast not to get wet.



Very, very impressive. Mother nature can be so beautiful, so strong.


Thursday, August 20, 2009

Heron-in-a-mist





Did you know that herons and egrets go to the top of the trees, above the mist, when preening themselves in the early morning?
Well now you do :-)





Sunday, August 16, 2009

A little better

This afternoon's walk went a little better. Seems that the key is to pick up the lead and the house keys at the same time, upstairs, and not leave the lead downstairs near the door, cos if I pick up the lead from the chair next to the front door, she goes scaredy-dog.

Who knew.

One of those weekends...

There are times when I wonder if I did the right thing for either of us when I adopted Bella.

She is beautiful. She is gentle. And she can drive me insane.

I feel housebound and long to travel again. But how can I leave her when she is afraid of everyone (so far the only exception is Jade)? How can I ever traumatise her more by putting her in kennels?

She has regressed badly the past two weeks. I thought we had got past the submissive peeing of the first month, but it has returned.

This morning, she peed on the carpet and peed on her bed. Why? Because for the past two days, she has been afraid of her lead/leash. Why? Who the heck knows. Somehow the sight and sound of me picking up her leash--which just last week made her all happy and excited--has turned into something to cower from. Once she is attached and outside, she is fine, walks well, chases voles (saw one this morning, at least she was not afraid of the vole, and she saw little Sandy, she is not afraid of Sandy either), sniffs everywhere, walks fine on the lead, stops and sits when told. But it's the time between me picking up the lead and her being connected to it. She crawls away and becomes more and more afraid.... and then has an accident.

This morning I fell part down the stairs as I turned so as not to make her more scared than she already was. And out walking, I stumbled over her head when she flinched from something--maybe a fly? --and stuck herself in front of me as we were walking. (How did you injure yourself? Karate? No... I tripped over my Great Dane's nose...)

My lawn is destroyed. OK it wasn't much of a lawn anyway, all weeds and hollows and general not-a-good-lawn, but now it is just brown circles all conspiring to merge together and become on dead desert. I have no idea how to get her to do her business anywhere else. Have tried everything I can think of, including sneaking dirt-from-my-lawn around the neigborhood verges, but nothing works. I have failed miserably.

She is beautiful and I have always wanted a Great Dane. And I think she likes me--a lot. But it feels that it's because she needs to hide behind me, rather than be a friend.

I wish her previous owners had told me about all her problems before I took her. They didn't. And that makes me wonder if it's lifelong problems with Bella, or a problem with me.

There. I've said it.

Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Yesterday sky

Sunshine and grey skies. White birds on gunmetal water. Shining grass with a cloud backdrop. "Battleship grey... hardship grey". And enough blue sky to make a sailor's suit.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

On Tuesdays she used to do yoga

... sometimes she does yoga, sometimes she sleeps, and sometimes she just waits patiently for me to escape from work and take her for a walk.

Dog yoga: the wriggle


One of six

Just after sunrise yesterday morning, I saw six raccoons walk across the back of my neighbour's garden, nose to tail, like a string of elephants; all identical in size, their shorter front legs making their walk seem hunched.

They came out from the trees, walked in front of the shed, then disappeared into the undergrowth.

A couple of minutes later, this guy came back for a lawn inspection.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Long Island game park--barbaric :-)


Or rather, Barbary. A barbary sheep or three. I liked these guys... they looked more wise than demonic (some of the little goats had a devilish glint in their eyes, and while these look more goat than sheep, there is a different intelligence in their eyes). I could imagine the barbary sheep sitting on a rocky outcrop, watching the mediterranean waters.
They come from North Africa. I really, really need a vacation.

More from the game park: camels and giraffe

I have a thing about camels.

I have knitted with their wool... and ridden one around the pyramids. Although the two at the game park had a pyramid-roofed house (at least from one angle), they were not dressed in multicolour finery, and they seemed a tad bored...
... manifesting itself in a game of peek-a-boo inside and outside the house.


Giraffes don't tend to fit into one shot.


But this giraffe needs a friend, a playmate. Looks rather sad standing around waiting hopefully for something. Food? Attention? A herd?


A few more from the game park--Jade and bambi

At least this one isn't eating the hostas...

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Already again

Already, sunrise is back around six a.m. Already, it is creeping south. Already, the days are shortening, little-by-little, a few minutes here, a few minutes there.

I need to spend some daylight cleaning camera lenses...

Monday, August 03, 2009

Mastic Beach the Village--petition time!

The petition for incorporating Mastic Beach as a village will be kicked off tonight! The meeting is at 7 p.m. at the Fire Department on Neighborhood Road. The census is completed!