Cows are such curious creatures and this one was the first to come to check us out as we photographed the herd in Ontario. She hasn’t even finished the grass you see sticking out of her mouth. I guess she was making sure we weren’t going to be a threat to her calf and the rest of the herd.
To see more of my images of animals, go to my animals gallery here https://stevenkennard.com/blog/skgallery/animals
Have a great weekend everyone!
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When we left our car in the parking lot to hike up the trail to the top of the cliffs in yesterday’s post, we had to walk a short way along the road and past some houses. As we went by this particular property, this affectionate little cat came out as if to welcome us.
To see more of my images of animals, go to my Animals Gallery!
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I have to thank my photo scout, Joni, the Border Collie, for finding me these little models last night. And also my lighting assistant, +Ellie Kennard for holding the flashlight. These two poor little kits were immobilized by the barking of my scout and their mother was nowhere to be seen. I can only assume that they were reunited in the night (and lived happily ever after) as in the morning they were nowhere to be seen.
Always keen to go for a run, Joni is at her happiest out in the woods and fields with us. She carries her supplies in her Ruffwear Pallisades backpack, so we will not be without snacks and water on our treks.
Clicking on Joni’s photo takes you to my Animals photo gallery.
We were quickly scanning old photos from our time in France when we came across this one of +Ellie Kennard taken about 20 years ago. At the time we had a beautiful German Shepherd Vicky, our old Joni and the playful Lhasa Apso, Millie. (Our young neighbour had difficulty pronouncing Millie so in time her name became Mellie, then evolved into Melanie.)
My posts are all on my blog: https://www.stevenkennard.com/blog/ .
I wanted to share this in honour of the new today photo theme #WoofWednesday +Woof Wednesday curated by +Sandra Nesbit and +Debbie Drummond . Congratulations on launching the new theme!
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As you can see, there were developments following my last posting of the uninvited guest in our cupola (https://stevenkennard.com/blog/archives/702 ).
What we didn’t know, was that she had a bunch of kids with her. If you read Ellie Kennard’s posting with her photo here https://elliekennard.ca/time-to-check-out-129365 you can read the story up to the point where we had screwed a board across the opening and then gone out for the evening.
And then…
When we got back, pandemonium had broken out! There were screams from inside the cupola (they make a lot of noise for such cute little things) and frantic noises from the mother as she ripped and tore at the slats and board trying to get at her babies. (They must have been hiding within the rafters when we looked into the hole, so that we didn’t see any signs of them.)
At 10:30 pm, therefore, in the dark, I was faced with the prospect of getting up on the roof with a frantic, protective big mother raccoon to try to unscrew the plank we had put over the hole. I didn’t fancy that much, but the thought of letting those babies starve to death while the mother tore all the shingles off our roof appealed less. What I did, in the end, as you can see, was to climb to the top of the ladder and use a long stick to force the two bottom slats off. This allowed the mother to get in (they flatten themselves to the size of a rug) and reassure the kits. She tried to get them to leave with her, but they wouldn’t go. This photo was taken 11:13 pm, in the pitch dark, with a work light illuminating the faces of these little masked bandits.
Ellie is convinced that the mother knew that we were trying to help and did not represent a threat, which was why she did not attack me.
And Finally
For those who want to know how we finally managed to get our guests to vacate, the secret was simpler than we could have guessed. They apparently hate rock music. So we put a radio in the bedroom under the cupola, turned our local rock station on full blast and left it on. Within 1 hour she was moving them out. With a lot of complaining and fussing the babies eventually must have followed her over the roof and down the crab apple tree to seek a quieter neighbourhood. They are wild animals. They will be happier in the wild as we will be happier with them in it. (They look soft and fluffy, by the way, but their fur is actually very coarse and stiff even as babies.)
Joni loves the snow and, at the moment after all of our snowfalls this winter,when she runs through some areas of the garden the snow is well over her head. Under the trees it is more sheltered and she comes up for breath. Her puppy hood is going so fast, she will soon be grown, so we have to make the most of this time.
Here you see the results of a successful #seagullbuttstickshaking session, as it is performed by a professional. NB. Hardly any seagulls were harmed in the making of this photograph.
One last thing I wanted to mention about this: The first few times you do this, try to make sure there is no one around. They might think you are totally crazy until you get the knack just right, when they will see you mean business and stand in awe.
Is it a Bat? Is it Squirrel? NO! It’s BATSQUIRREL!
If a circus career doesn’t work out for him he could try out for the Olympic gymnastics team.