Snyder

Snyder has made it to Maine. Fresh from Utah, he's full of love and non stop fun.
I will not apologize for the quality of the photos, he doesn't stop, a camera thrust in his face requires him to move closer.

And he is more than I thought. He's terrific, well behaved and he's happy. That's all I asked for.

March begins

Coyote and snowshoes

Raising my head to look out the window in the morning, it's good to see the sky brightening earlier.
We've had a fair amount of snow this winter, and some cold. I haven't gotten out as much, for a few reasons.  I need to get out and since March is one of my favorite months, I will.

I realized the other day I haven't picked my camera up for a while, that too needs to change.

In late January, I finally decided I wanted a dog. Not having one around for me makes the house seem dead. But looking for a dog when you can't get out to look, fill out applications and the like, is hard. Maine is a big state,the nearest shelter for me is 50 miles away, and usually when one becomes available they are adopted before you know it.  But the internet does help. I tried one rescue. The woman sent back an email, said she wanted to bring the dog for a visit, and as of today, she still hasn't made it. Yes she is on my shit list. And a few other tries didn't work out. Distance and not having the time got in the way.  So I checked out Best Friends in Kanab,Utah.  You may be familiar with the National Geographic series Dogtown. That's the place.  The staff there has been beyond helpful. Professional, courteous and caring about their charges, I can't say enough about them. With their help, I finally decided on one. He arrives in Maine this Saturday. After I spring him from the airport, we hit the beach.

Yes, I'm still here.

Not much to report up here in the sticks. It's cold,duh, -23 f this morning, which although it is cold,we've had colder,like -45f. But that was a long time ago. It's a feeling you don't soon forget, your face hurts,teeth, ice cream headaches, feet, you name it, it hurts. Deeply too.

The cold makes sounds louder, life seems intense,deliberate, meaningful. And it really makes you long for spring.

Storm to the south

A fly.

I originally wrote this during the summer, but then left it behind.  So today I dug it out and did a complete rewrite.

With the way this summer had been going, and now the fall and I can see winter isn't going to be much different, I thought going back and taking another look at things might be helpful. Or not. I had stopped by the Boy Scout Camp as I try to do several times a week. It's usually quiet and from a distance, doesn't look like a real happening place.  But it is. From April to October you can usually find something to hold your interest, and hen again you should be able to do that anywhere.  Just pay attention. Look around.

I say a fly of the same specie flying, hovering near the ground, making short stabbing like flights towards the ground. Looking more carefully you would have seen small holes that these motions were being directed to. Nothing should ever go unnoticed. I thought that the fly was laying eggs in the tunnels  and that those eggs would hatch and then the larva would parasitize the inhabitant of the hole. It happens,parasites are everywhere.

Most people don't pay attention, we're too busy talking to someone else, have too much on our minds, etc. We're never really in the moment. Too bad, you miss a lot.

I went further along,going back towards the jeep, and saw this little, black fly on the ground. I stopped, got down on my knees, and poked him (or her) with my finger. It sidestepped a millimeter or so. Not much. That got my curiosity up. Very nearby, there was a hole, and after running back to get a camera (rule one,never leave your camera) I went back, took a couple of shots and looked at the hole. There in the hole, was a skin like thing just barely poking out. You would never have noticed it,honest. I got my forceps out and very carefully pulled out a husk .  Back at home I would sit down and take a better look .

The fly is one of Antrax species, some of which are  parasites of solitary wasps. Now there are in the area that I found this one, lots of bees,mining bees. But also tiger beetles. And at least on,Anthrax analis, parasitizes tiger beetles.  The husk that I found shows, (now this is cool,) a fly front and the rear end of a tiger beetle larva. I would post a photo,but it doesn't show.  I'm not sure if this fly is A. aralis,  but it made my walk much more interesting.

And yes, I still have the skin.

Freeze up

But it might change.  It was 4 above this morning, by Sunday night,rain.

Getting closer to freeze up.

Kennebago River, Cloutman Ridge in the background.

Pileated woodpecker holes,unlucky ants.

Getting colder, the river edges are beginning to freeze.

It always happens this way. A steady pull, back and forth between warm and cold. The past few days have been cold and snowy. By midweek, we are expecting rain. Back and forth.  Some of the smaller ponds are ice covered, the big lakes are still open, but that will be changing too. The cold will win out, it just takes time.