termites or ants- you decide! cougar mt, wa

i bent down to photograph this ant/termite?
i heard a chewing sound and called the others...do you hear that chewing sound too ? do you?
the log above was being excavated by this ant/termite's comrades.
amazing work-
how great would it be to train termites to eat things out in a particular fashion- carve on command- but i guess they have shit to do of their own.
the amazing amount of life in the long downed log with what rapidity they work in unified chewing and spitting out of wood.
the patterns reminded me of crop circles and symbolism used in fictional plays of both the future and the past.

cougar mt sunday

we walked the wildside trail and the marshall pt trail on our sunday jaunt.

saw some termites getting down to business- photos to come.

squirrel takes on the swinging bird feeder

 squirrel takes on the bird feeder and wins.
scares the beejeezus out of talula when he's finished and jumps onto the screen door it bounces against window to climb down intrepidly.
this is the first successful attempt. i need seed .
i keep forgetting to get seed.
so no seed in the squirrel box well needs have to be met.
i will get seed tomorrow squirrel friends.
sorry x

heart shaped strawberry

had a big ass fruit salad on saturday.
mango, apple, banana, strawberry.

this lil fella was hiding at the bottom of the package - a heart shaped strawberry. previous we have had heart shaped puddles, clouds, rocks but this is our first heart shaped strawberry.

more details of the home closet garden

 out garden is small but i love it , as i remember out south london pad with nothing but a step outside and the bins-
a hanging pot became my solace for the need to grow outdoors.
we have made do with much much less and i am grateful.
it makes it easier  to notice moments that might go unnoticed in a large garden i see the birds i see the blooms my desk is right next to the sliding doors so i can switch between watching and doing.
the dog sometimes as he is now with me on the bean bag- presently because he doesn't like the noise of the boxes of ebay sales being packaged up. my old computer , RIP.  but back to the garden the lavender is about to bloom later then the stuff in the side as it gets much less sun.onions in a pot not really going anywhere in growth.
and poor blueberry lacking in something ...perhaps nutrition- worm casing broth it is for you.
maybe next year.
keep thinking of moving two to the p patch.
or one to the upper deck?

did some transplanting of the creeping jennies who crept all over the place- clipped em stuffed them in the wall with some moss to keep the roots wet while they settle in hopefully to the minimal soil also previously stuffed in the crevices.

weekend bounty from p patch

 and on sunday we ate alot of these-
picked fresh from the patch. today we ate the potatoes roasted yum yum, never had the satisfaction of pulling a potato from the ground before- very exciting especially when i plunged around in the ground nails especially filled with dirt (not that i have nails, but i did still however have a lot of dirt under them.)

passion flower in the garden

i planted this passion flower back in 2009. this year is the first year we have had blooming blooms.
they have been worth waiting for and are going off slowly in ones and then twos now we are blooming in mutiples.

fantastic.

backyard squirrel shenanigans

 well this was a particularly frisky morning for the squirrels. they arrived together and arsed about together and eventually left together.
there was much time spent with one squirrel on top the box with the other one in it.
i was a little concerned at first as if the other brought the half boxed squirrel here to do him an unkind mis service.
but all was ok they shared and played nicer then some squirrels i have seen. beginning to  feel like they may soon file some voyeurism charge - but they are in my garden so how does that work? surely i have nothing to worry about they just want my nuts.

 here's a couple more of the previously mentioned puddle and surrounds.

puddle in snohomish

i became utterly fascinated with this puddle and the light and this is just the first of many puddle shots i will be playing with giving the greater expanse of the scene- the electric pylons added rather then drew away.
i must go now it is 8 oclock and i am no longer the only resident awake.
it is time to be communicative.
dog is still in bed but the toilet flushed...
there is some atrocious sound occurring from building site across the road on greenwood it is slightly vibrating everything with this noise that sounds as if the earth below is vomiting. the more i focus on it the more disturbing it is- obviously right? thats how it goes.
but its been going on for days and i have mostly been ignoring it- its like someone is giving the planet a lobotomy.
onto other thoughts now, good day.x

the utter fantasticness of pigeons

some fantastic pigeon facts:
Are pigeons intelligent?Pigeons are considered to be one of the most intelligent birds on the planet with pigeons being able to undertake tasks previously thought to be the sole preserve of humans and primates.  The pigeon has also been found to pass the ‘mirror test’ (being able to recognise its reflection in a mirror) and is one of only 6 species, and the only non-mammal, that has this ability.  The pigeon can also recognise all 26 letters of the English language as well as being able to conceptualise. In scientific tests pigeons have been found to be able to differentiate between photographs and even differentiate between two different human beings in a photograph when rewarded with food for doing so.


‘Rock Dove’ or ‘pigeon’?The feral pigeon that we see in our towns and cities today is descended from the Rock Dove (Columba livia), a cliff dwelling bird historically found in coastal regions.  The word ‘pigeon’ is actually derived from the Latin word ‘pipio’ which meant ‘young bird’.  The word then passed into Old French as ‘pijon’ and thus the English name ‘pigeon’ was derived and is now used the world over as a common name for the Rock Dove.  Other common names include ‘domestic pigeon’ and the ‘feral pigeon’.  In 2004 British and American Ornithologists officially re-named the bird the Rock Pigeon.




The religious significance of the pigeon
Many religious groups including Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs feed pigeons for religious reasons.  Many older Sikhs feed pigeons ceremoniously to honour the high priest and warrior Guru Govind Singh who was a known friend of the pigeon (or rock dove).  Some Sikhs also feed pigeons because they believe that when they are reincarnated they will never go hungry if they have fed pigeons in their previous life.  Other religious groups in India believe that when a person dies his or her soul assumes the form of a bird (normally a pigeon) and therefore by feeding birds they are caring for the souls of their departed ancestors.  The pigeon is revered in India with huge flocks numbering many thousands of birds being fed daily at Hindu temples in town and city centres throughout the country.  In both eastern and western societies many of the most entrenched pigeon-related problems in urban areas are considered to be caused, certainly in part, by religious feeding of the birds.  In the Christian religion the pigeon is both a symbol of peace and of the Holy Spirit.



Pigeon poop – foul or fantastic?
Although pigeon poo is seen as a major problem for property owners in the 21st Century, it was considered to be an invaluable resource in the 16th, 17th and 18th century in Europe.  Pigeon poop was a highly prized fertiliser and considered to be far more potent than farmyard manure.  So prized in fact that armed guards were stationed at the entrances to dovecotes (pigeon houses) to stop thieves stealing it!  Not only this, but in England in the 16th century pigeon poop was the only known source of saltpetre, an essential ingredient of gunpowder and was considered a highly valued commodity as a result.  In Iran, where eating pigeon flesh was forbidden, dovecotes were set up and used simply as a source of fertilizer for melon crops and in France and Italy it was used to fertilize vineyards and hemp crops.








the full 21 amazing facts can be found at deter a pigeon

george and ringo- the goats at horsemanship school

geroge and ringo make me want goats more then any other goat i have met.
they are always so happy to see you.
these are fantastic goats and its great to be able to see them if only but once a week (really nice to see them every day during the camp.)
goats lovely goats.

millipede on the trail

millipede on the trail at boulder river.