AstroGypsies

There is something immensely satisfying about watching cats. Groot is a serious guy, he takes his job of Alpha cat incredibly seriously. It’s usually all business, especially outside where danger lurks…but sometimes…he gets deliciously silly!

A moment can turn to bappity-baps (cat smacks) very quickly when someone…i.e. Rocket, doesn’t follow the rules!

“There is a NO SNIFF protocol in place for all outside activities! WHAT is he thinking! He MUST obey the rules! Admittingly, I do have a lot of them!” exclaimed Groot “He will be bappity-bapped for this!”

I’m not entirely sure if Rocket can even comprehend the rule book Groot keeps but he keeps on trying to teach his young padwan! These guys get to go out escorted by us, never alone. Too many bigger furry critters that eat smaller ones out here:) We’re back to “cat retrieval devices” (harness and leashes) now that Spring is here:)

There mornings are spent sniffing, exploring and getting into trouble!

Never a dull moment with the Mewberries;) Occasionally there is burst of speed and up the trees they go…or down the road. Mike ran after Gamora all the way to the neighbours a few days ago, and then she evaded him and ran all the way back…she’s a wildling…Mike was exercised anyway! Ha! Angry…but exercised;)

Now Rocket…well, lets just say the life of a man of leisure would best suit him;) Or if you’ve ever watched the British TV series “Keeping up Appearances” Rocket may have been Onslow in a former life, just a redhead:) He prefers to hunt in the rocks with his long arms and lay around, upside down mostly…He could earn extra catnip funds being a yoga teacher if all the poses were reclined;)

I think my horse Dusty might be on the same wavelength, though at 32 years old, he deserves a bit of repose!

He was enjoying the sun the other day as I stalked a Killdeer in his field…it even pretends to have a broken wing to the horses! Ha! The nest is out there! We’ll find it!

I miss my girl Maya. It’s hard sometimes but the old guy has had a good life too so he can’t complain, he does though! But with almost no teeth left he has been happy to see those tender shoots of grass and I’ve noticed his eyesight is not what it was…getting old…argh! I sympathize with him:)

Anything for a carrot! Dusty and Phoenix ran off after their brushing, no lingering at the gate so I took these lovely, somewhat furry, shedding models instead! Hillary, the redhead, would not put his ears up! Even shaking the carrot bag had NO effect! Ha! They are shaggy little creatures as their winter coats fall off! AS we pulled in I saw Jennifer’s crab apple tree had shed a load of petals in the rain last night, I was going to get Alice to do a photoshoot with me, and Mike, holding the fish container. She and the black cat Sophie get Sunday snacks! I think Groot would fall head over heels with Alice in a secound! She is a sensible, no nonsense kind of girl that has rules as well!

There was to be NO laying down, no tummy shots, this was a glamour shot she said, not a girly pin up…much to Groot’s dismay when I showed him this afternoon;)

I am pleased to say the black flies are done, well, 99% anyway…but the mosquitos, holy toledo batman! Even the cats bat them away! There are swarms of newly hatched dragonflies in front of the house this past weekend! A glorious sight to see! So far Spiny Baskettails to go with the American Emeralds, Chalk-fronted Corporals and even a Dot-tailed Whiteface. They can be so confusing as the female at times looks completely different than the male! I’m learning…slowly, for everything else there is iNaturalist and friends who know!

If it’s windy the bugs are not so bad, mail walk check then goes more pleasantly:) I did shoo a small Common garter Snake off the road, it wasn’t having any of it, I will strike you lady. I stopped to explain it would be a flat snake if it stayed out where it was for any length of time…people drive a bit too quickly out here;)

What I’d really walked out to photograph were the Large White Trilliums turning pink and mauve! Pink and white trilliums are not different species, but one and the same…The flower’s white petals turning pink as they age. The pinkish colour plants develop as they make these pigments may be just a side effect, with their real purpose being to help protect tissues as the plants “work to recover the nutrients in the petals that they are ‘throwing away,’ Very cool!

It’s amazing how the wildflowers come and go, replaced by something new the next week. So far no morels yet but I’m still sticking to the road, so many ticks this year I’m playing it safe!

I have two little buddies in the cushion box already…Gray tree frogs! They are singing from the trees as well! A beautiful sound! I swear this guy, the smaller of the two was smiling at me:) I had to remove him to take the cushions out and then gently place him back in the box when I was done…talk about a good taxi service!

A couple of nights ago, well early mornings, I was going to go down to the canoe for the sunrise but the hundreds of mosquitos on the window screen deterred me…”Nah, next time!” Ha! Discretion is the better part of valor no?” Ha! So early last Saturday morning I looked out, krickey, yes I HAVE to go down! Mosquitos or not. Not bathrobe but winter jacket over pyjamas photography! 🙂 It was wild the colour!

I sat on the dock and just listened and watched. The brilliant orange was amazing. Across the lake I could see our resident muskrat swimming towards me. They live under the floating dock. He came right towards me and dove under:) My reward for hoofing it down there! and only a few bites!

Now the rain has moved in…We might get a break by Sunday, maybe some sun Monday? Who knows. The plants are loving it, the Mewberries not so much but they have a brand new diversion…We jumped in feet first and purchased a new (to us!) Mewberrymobile! a 2011 (in our price range!) 30′ gas powered Monaco A-class that we drove to Markham to pick up from the sellers who kindly drove it all way from Sarnia to meet us! Thank you Randy and Terry! After a two hour wait at the MTO with a delightful group of other folks waiting, and waiting and waiting who had a fabulous sense of humour, they cheered when someone’s number finally came up! Ha! (boy are we spoiled in Perth) we walked away with all the paperwork intact and new plates, I will get that socket and wrench handle back to you Randy, I promise! We were hoping to beat the wind and rain and hadn’t counted on the two hour MTO wait but hey, trial by fire Mike! He’s looking at suspension upgrades already! I drove home behind him, it was a long day. Our laneway was a piece of cake Mike said, compared to the Dodge Ram 3500 pulling a 38′ 5th wheel! That was my one worry, some of those curvy hills, but he breezed in! Whew!

The best part after pulling in was the look of wonder and joy on Gamora and Groot’s face when they went outside and saw it! They made a beeline for it! Up the stairs, exploring, sniffing, checking out the large luxurious dash. They were playing on the bed like kittens again! Who said animals didn’t have memories! This was like they were reliving their childhood! I knew Gamora would be excited, but Groot, he was wild with delight! Rocket is still convinced it’s the devils spaceship! Ha! Today he finally spent a few minutes, with the help of some tasty treats exploring it! Hopefully we’ll get some sun for better shots later but right now, well, it’s been a long week, but rewarding!

We were going to call her Gassy Myrtle (she’s gas powered) but I think the Mewberry Mobile or Myrtle Mobile are the contenders! Inside pictures to come later! Right now, it’s rest time!

I did excitedly text my brother that I had an Onan Generator in my life again…I wasn’t sure if he sent a laugh…or groan emoji;) It’s only been 40 or so years since I’ve had to hand someone tools to work on one! Ha! Saludos amigos. We haven’t decided if we’ll go East first, or West, Groot says there are fresh shrimp on both coasts so he doesn’t care which!