Mother Moose Is Still Here

The moose cow is still staying on the other side of the beaver bog.

We still haven't seen a calf.

Sometimes we see movement in the woods behind her.

Click any photo to view it large.

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Little Photographers

Catgirl's new puzzle

The kids took more photos of each other last week. They are beginning to get the knack of pointing, framing and shooting!

Ironman finishes setting the table for supper

Catgirl hugs Sophie Dog

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Wordless Wednesday: Phoebe Nest

Sayornis phoebe

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Cats on Tuesday: Dirty Feet

Buddy's muddy feet after a morning of hunting.

I was very surprised to see Buddy come home in the morning with muddy feet. He usually hates getting his feet wet. But that goes to show you what the hunting instinct will do to a boy: it overcomes his distaste for dirty feet. Buddy will even hunt in the rain and come back soaked to the skin. But if you were to put him outside in the rain, he would vehemently object!

Thank you for stopping by!

To visit other participants, visit Gattina

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Ruby Tuesday: Chicken Combs & Wattles

Barred Rock chickens have straight combs

After photographing the Barred Rock chickens here at home, I have become fascinated by their combs (on top of their head) and wattles (under their jaw). They are red in most, but not all, species of chickens and are fleshy growths. The chickens use them for controlling their body heat. Blood flows from the wattles to the combs to cool chickens off on hot days. But wattles and combs can become frost bitten in the winter and many people will cut them off to prevent freezing. This is called dubbing and it is said to be painless for the chicken. I have been told that the pecking order of the flock can be determined by the size and brightness of the comb: the dominant hen will have the biggest and reddest comb. However, I have found no mention of this in my reading so I can't verify it. 

On the subject of eggs: for whatever reason, be it the season, the barn renovations, the raccoons, or simply being silly chickens, the hens have begun laying their eggs in the woods. Pictured here is a nest of 7 eggs that I found in the willows. John found a nest of over 20 eggs, and we even are finding eggs in the garage. Only about 2 eggs a week are in the nesting boxes. That means there are over one hundred eggs somewhere else! When the new chicken coop is finished, the hens will be confined to it for a few days until they adjust their behaviors.

   My Barred Rock Chicken Set on Flickr

Click to visit Work of the Poet for more Ruby Tuesday posts!

Thank you for visiting today!

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Macro Monday: Ebony Jewelwing

Calopteryx macula

Click the photo to view it larger in a new window.

A pair of ebony jewelwings is nearby, poised on a broad-leaved overhang of fox grape and silky dogwood, she resting her white-tipped dark wings and he his jet black ones above their burnished-metal bodies . . . fish and damselflies, jewels set in a sunlit run of the brook at midday.

from Following the Water, David M. Carroll

Click here to view more wonderful macros.

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One Single Impression: Ochre

The Doe I follow her trail through a forest of ferns, over blow-downs, through brambles of blackberries. The going is rough on this granite-blanketed mountainside. She moved silently while I burst through — huffing and cursing her nimble feet and my awkward feet. I lose her after the hoof mark in the stream's ochre mud. This forest has cloaked her and rebuked me.

Click to read more beautiful poetry.

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Camera Critters: Charlotte A. Cavatica

Araneus cavaticus.

If you ever read Charlotte's Web by E. B. White, you read about barn spiders. Charlotte's last name, Cavatica, is a variation of the species name cavaticus. Barn spiders are orb weavers: they eat their web every night and rebuild another one. They live in wooden buildings and in rafters (thus they are called barn spiders). They are nocturnal. Barn spiders are a North American spider and are most prevalent in New England and Canada. They are furry spiders and can get quite large and scary looking! I have zillions of them outside the house and in the barn and garage. I love watching and photographing them.

Do you know what Charlotte's middle name was (it begins with A) and what its significance is? I'll put the answer in the comments!

Click and view more delightful animals

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A Hazy Landscape But No Wires

With wires

Do you remember this photo of the Duquette Barn that I posted last Wednesday? I was disappointed because of the telephone wires in it. I could have taken them out with Photoshop but it is a long, laborious process. One of my commenters, Robin of Around the Island in Tel Aviv, told me about NoWires. It is a stand alone Windows application or an Elements plugin that easily gets rid of your power lines. It does exactly what Photoshop cloning would do but easier and quicker and without cramping my fingers. I tried it. I bought it. I fixed the photo, and  you can see the new version below:. Thank you, Robin!

Without wires

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LOL Cat Bible: Lectionary Readings for Sunday, June 27, 2010

Sunday, June 27, 2010

2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14

Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20 

1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21

Psalm 16 

Galatians 5:1, 13-25 

Luke 9:51-62

2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14

Elikhat Tha Robot Goes To Heaven

1 Omg so Ceiling Cat waz bout 2 take da robot in2 heaven rite? but not his pal! n his pal neva nooo tht he was goin 2 heavn by a tornado btw. so da robot n his pal were wokin
2 Da robot sed 2 his pal "plz stay here cuz Ceiling Cat wnts me 2 go 2 burger king, n its a long walk!" but his pal sed "no i wanna cum wiv u cos i wanna chikhen sammich n ull 4get" so they went 2 burger king
3 N da ppl who waz serving dem sed to da robot "do u no tht Ceiling Cat iz gnna take u 2 heaven but not ur pal???" n da he sed "yeh i no but dnt tell me!!!"
4 So den after he finshs tokin he tells his pal "plz stay here cos Ceiling Cat wnts me 2 go 2 mcdonalds cos dey dnt sell mcflurrys ere." but he seys "no im cumin wiv u" so they go ova 2 mcdonalds
5 So da guy who was servin da robot seys "do u no tht Ceiling Cat is takin u 2 heven but not u?" n da pal seys "yes but shutttup dnt remind me!!"
6 Den da robot seys 2 his pal "stay ere im goin to kfc, Ceiling Cat wants me 2" n da pal seys "no im cumin wiv u!!" so they went 2 kfc
7 Thy were almost dere but ther waz a huuuuge puddl in da way in da carpark so evey1 insyde kfc watched dem struggle haha!
8 Den da robot got a towel, throo it in da water n it all soakd up
9 Wen dey got in2 kfc da robot sed 2 his pal "wot do u want?" n he sed "double porshon ov chikhen plz"
10 An he sed "u hav askd suchs a hard fing cos i dnt hav enuf moneys"
11 An they toked for a bit an suddnly 2 horses on fire came n made a tornado n took da robot into heaven but not his pal.
12 N so his pal went mental n shoutd "da horses is on fire!!!" so took all da robots clothes tht he left n tore dem up
13 He took da towel dat wz still in da car park ov kfc n lookd arownd da car park
14 He den sqeeezd da woter out n shoutd "where da heck did my friend go??" den left

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Psalm 77 1 HALPZ Ceiling Cat!!!111ELEVEN u lissen K? 2 iz scared kittehs lik to stretch kittehs pawz 3 Ceiling Cat makez kittehs go NO WAIZ 4 lemme go napz k 5 i want havez good dreemz too lol 6 (kittehs luv iPod) 7 why Ceiling Cat DO NOT WANT kittehs? 8 he liek, 'uz bad' 9 'i wilz pwn kittehs' 10 iz liek, ok d00d wtf will tri make u happi 11 cuz uz dun cool stufs 12 ur liek way cool 13 Ceiling Cat TOTALY RULEZ 14 uz big kitteh 15 wiht big pawz 16 uz not eves scared of watur lolz 17 oh noes THUNDERZ!!!11!111 18 more thunderz!! kitteh scared SRSLY 19 Ceiling Cat halpz teh kittehs n ur pawz r invizubul 20 peepz r liek, kthxbai!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21

15 Den Ceiling Cat sed to him: "Go bak to teh Wildurnez uv Damascus; wen yu get dere, anoint Hazael as king ovah Syria.
16 Also yu shall anoint Jehu teh son uv Nimshi as king ovah Israel. An Elisha teh son uv Shapat uv Abel Meholah yu shall anoint as proffet in yur plaec.
17 An it can beez dat whoevah escaepz frum teh gunz uv Hazael, Jehu will pwn; an whoevah escaepz teh gunz uv Jehu, Elisha will pwn.
18 Yet Ai can has reservd seven tousan in Israel, all whoes nees no can has bowd to Baal uv Twine, an evereh mouth dat no can has kissd him."

Elisha Folloz Elikhat
19 So him departd frum dere, an foun Elisha teh son uv Shaphat, who wuz plowing wif twelv yoak uv oxen befor him, an him was wif teh twelf. Den Elikhat passd bai him an threw him mantel on him.
20 An him lef him oxen an runnd afetr Elikhat, an sed, "Let meh kiss meh daddeh an mommeh, an den I can has folloz yu." An him sed to him, "Go bak, fer wut has I dun to yu?"
21 So Elisha turnd bak frum him, an tuk a yoak uv oxen an pwnd dem an boild der flesh, usin teh oxen's equipmunt, an gaev it to teh peeps, an dey eated. Den him aroes an follod Elikhat, an becaem him servant.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Psalm 16 Gud Stuffs 1 Hai, Celing Cat, I can has protekshuns? 2 I sez 2 Ceiling Cat: "Hai! Celing Cat! U R teh ooberest! LOL!!!11" 3 if u no lyke den u suck. 4 If u no lyke Ceiling Cat den F U, n00b! Sumthin bout libashuns! 5 Ceiling Cat can has my stuffses. 6 Thx 4 mah howse, Ceiling Cat! 7 U tells me 2 do stuff! 8 Ceiling Cat alwayz be wit me, kinda creepy 9 but oober asum! 10 Cuz u no leev me 4 woomun, Ceiling Cat, even if her chesticlz be hyoooooj!! 11 You teechz me 2 not suck

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Galatians 5:1, 13-25

Freedm in Jebus

1 Jebus setted us free so we cud be free, duh. Hang in ther an doan B slaves agayn.
13 Jebus maed us free, but not to do whatevr we want. We shud be free to help eech othr.
14 U can boil teh law down to wun thing: "Liek eech othr k."
15 If u keep bitin an scratchin each othr, sumbudiz goin to get hurted.

Livin bai da Spirit
16 So I sez, be livin by teh Spirit, and u wil no be gratifyin teh desirens of ur eevil selfz.
17 Becuz of ur naychur yu wantz teh opposit of what teh Spirit wantz, and teh Spirit iz wantin teh opposit of Invisible Errors. Dey dun liek teh otherz wai of doin stuf so dey turn yu confoozled and yu don do wut u wanna do.
18 But if teh Spirit leedz u, u dun needa worriez abowt teh lawz.
19 Teh thingz ur sinful naychur wantz are obvius: induhlgence in sexiness and impur things;
20 makin iduls dat arnt of Ceiling Cat and ridin on broomz; havin mean thotts toward other kittehs, nawt beeyin unifaiyd, beeyin jelus of other pplz cheezburgers, getin all mad reely quik, only thnkin of urself, speekin tings dat r dissagreeabel, teemin up to taek other pplz cheezburgers
21 and beeyin mad becuz dey hav dem and yu dont; gettin all drunk, havin sexiness with lots of pplz that arnt ur spows, and all dat stuf. Iz warnin yu, and I alredy told u dis, dat ppl doin deez thingz arnt goin to teh Ceiling Cat's howse, k?
22 But teh Spiritz froot iz luv, joyness, peec, beeyin kind, beeyin good, keepin teh fayth,
23 treetin ppl gently, and keepin contrl of urself. Dere iz no lawz agenst dose things.
24 Teh ppl who belong to Jeebus hav killd dere Invisible Errors and stuf.
25 We liv bai teh Spirit, so letz act liek it.26 Letz not get stuk up an pester each othr an start catfiets. Srsly.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Luke 9:51-62

Jebus Pwns James an John

51 So Jebus sez "I'z goan to Jerusalem. Srsly."
52 An him frnz goed to Samaritan citee to git hotel.
53 But hotel sez "U'z goan to Jerusalem. GTFO."
54 An lolcats James an John sez "We can burnz citee? Jus liek Elikhat? LOL!"
55 But Jebus sez "WTF? We beez teh gud guyz, u n00bz!"
56 So dem goed to nother citee wher hotel wuz niesr to dem.

Teh Wannabee Lolcats
57 Den der was wannabee lolcat who sez "I goez wherevr u goez, Boss."
58 An Jebus sez "Mowseez has hoels an birdeez has nestes, but I'z got no hoem."
59 An him tell nother d00d "Fahlo me." But him sez "Boss, I gots to buri mai dadee firs."
60 An Jebus sez "WTF? Soembodee ells do dat. U go preech bowt Ceiling Cat."
61 An nother wannabee sez "Boss, I goed wit u, but gots to sae bai bai firs to mai homeez."
62 An Jebus sez "Ceiling Cat DO NOT WANT no lolcats who luk bak. Srsly!"

Get ready now cuz the wild weekend is coming!
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Barn Roof

John takes the roof off.

Piece by piece, John (with help from us) is dismantling the barn. It is in very bad shape and will be rebuilt with both old and new materials. The back shed is gone and the area is cleaned out. By hand, John broke he concrete slab under the shed with a sledge hammer. The land was drained more with a new trench and another hidden stream bed was found. There's lots more demolition to do!.

John dismantles the barn roof.

Back shed is gone and drainage trench dug

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Hazy Landscape

The Duquette Barn

I took this photo of the Duquette Barn, down the road, from the top of the hill behind the house on Memorial Day. You should be able to see the Lowell Range of mountains in the far background, but smoke from the Quebec forest fires has made the view very hazy. You can also see the infernal power lines that ruin so many Vermont photographs. They seem to be in the way much more often here than anywhere else I have photographed. This old barn is slowly collapsing. We hope that it can be restored before it is gone forever.
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Wordless Wednesday: The Spider and the Fly

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Barn Demolition

Barn shed roof after many winters of snow

 Our barn, as you have probably seen, needs to be rebuilt. But the back shed (above) couldn't be saved and had to be demolished before somebody (or some kitty or chicken) was hurt if it collapsed. On Memorial Day, John hopped on the tractor and knocked it down. This isn't as easy as it sounds. John saves all of the materials, and to demolish the shed safely, he had to take it down in small sections. It sat on a frost broken concrete slab and that had to be broken with a sledge hammer and buried. Finally, the land had to be cleared and drained properly. It was nasty work but it's done. Now we are slowly demolishing the barn itself.

And down it comes!

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Bullets in Midair!

Memorial Day Honor Guard Salute

The parade route on Memorial Day leads directly to Crystal Lake State Park for a memorial service for our fallen sailors and soldiers. In the photo above, the Honor Guard is saluting those special Americans with volleys from their guns. I purposefully tried to capture the bullets in air when they shot. And I did it! Below is a cropped section of this photo showing two of the bullets in the air.

Bullets in Midair

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Scenes from the Memorial Day Parade in Barton

Barton's Veterans

"God bless our troops."

Lake Region Union High School band

One of Barton's fire trucks

Barton's tanker truck

Orleans Fire Department

Orleans tanker truck

Westmore Fire & Rescue

Westmore's Engine 1

Glover Ambulance

Memorial Day in Barton Set

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