Reese/Rosemary/Rainy Track

When I laid the track in this field I didn't see what "was out at the back" until I was part way through. There were a small number of geese, luckily none came after me, so I guess no nearby nest, and a single sandhill crane.It walked a long way ahead of me before taking flight, circling back towards me, which was appreciated so I could take this picture.We just had drizzle when I laid the track, but by the time R&R came and started on it, it was a heavy downpour. Nice start on first leg, Reese is a really good little tracking beagle, very focused.This was the fourth leg, heading out to where the geese were; unfortunately, heading out to the goose poo as well. Reese also passed two places where there were gopher holes with no issues.She's just too cute. She lies down on her article, looking at Rosemary for a treat.

They did five corners, six legs and worked very steady on the track. Rosemary is a very nice, calm handler with Reese, they are a great team.

The Forest Floor..

Wildflowers are blooming like crazy in the forest now...some actually are already done, like the pretty bloodroot. This is spring beauty, mixed in with trout lily.The red trilliums have just blossomed out in the last two days. Hundreds of them out there just budding now. They are such a beautiful colour. My triple white ones have 8 buds on them, the most so far.There's a real assortment here of wildflowers along with a few that I have introduced right behind the house. Very pretty after the rain, very humid this afternoon in the forest, and very buggy..

Blackflies are out!!!

Blast didn't seem bothered by the blackflies, perhaps because he is racing so fast.

Poor Tank was swarmed with them...they always go for the black dogs.Our walks this afternoon were very quick and very short due to the bugs. I hope this afternoon wasn't an indication of a really bad year for them. Blast, as usual, has all the toys we took on the walk. He has a ball shoved way back in his mouth behind these two toys. I don't know how he doesn't choke!A later walk behind the house with Kira and Trust...this was an experiment to see how it went. They pretty much ignored each other, which was perfect. Kira was determined to haul this, and another big branch out, and got quite ticked at it when it wouldn't co-operate. She jumped on it, growling and barking and continued to push and pull until it would finally go with her. Then I had to watch behind me so I didn't get poked. Tenacious little she-devil.

Rose Breasted Grosbeak

The male has returned, so hopefully there will be nearby nest again this year. The male Rose Breasted Grosbeak is so pretty with such sharp contrasts of white/black/red.He had a good feed of striped sunflower seeds, then rested for quite a while.

I was hoping to see his mate, but perhaps she is busy building a nest while the male pigs out....hmmm....does this sound at all familiar?!I just love to see these birds and makes me think of when the indigo buntings may show up. The weather this week is sounding like sudden summer, so perhaps more will show up in a few days. I need to get the first of the hummingbird feeders out, just in case.Still taking life easy...he will probably be very busy soon, if he does have a mate - hopefully she has a "honey do" list...