Sherrieflower's Blog

May 9th update - We've got Kits!
May 9, 2008 | 2:52 PM PST
Tag: Nature babies +Happy Mother's Day

I was rounding the corner of the east end of the house [pool wing] today when I heard a little yip.  It was coming from under my oak leaf hydrangea bush up by the house.  I looked over and noticed something furry about the size of a rabbit and when I went for a closer look, I found myself face to face with a little fox kit - sticking its head out of yet another hole!  This one is right at the base of my hydrangea bush.  I hollered at my hubby - "We've got babies!" But he didn't quite believe me until he was over that way a little later and happened to see 2 of them!  I think fox babies are born sometime in March - so we are not talking newborns here.

I grabbed my camera and we sat over there for awhile hoping they would come back out but didn't have that kind of patience today since we were in the middle of doing stuff that needed doing.  If the weather is nice Sunday, I hope to take camera over and "stake out the joint" and hope I can get some photos.

The goose family appears to be ranging farther and farther afield.  They were around this morning but have disappeared since we came out and starting working outdoors.  I have been trying to get some closer shots of the goslings but that is hard to do.  My 300 zoom lens isn't that great and the photos I take with it not so sharp.  I'd love to have a mega telephoto lens but they are so expensive!  I do a lot of macro photography too - close ups of flowers mostly and do alright with the zoom lenses I have but think it might be nice to get one that goes even further for the tinier details.  I've noticed some flowers that are sooo tiny!

We were taking a break on the balcony this afternoon and noticed a robin's nest in the big oak that sits catty corner from our house  - being on the 2nd floor really gets you up there with the birds and we could see them feeding their young ones.  Nice vantage point.  IN fact at my computer I sit just inside looking out picture windows that look out over my balcony and yard to the bird feeder out front and the entire pond.  A writer's dream office.

Since this blog is mostly about babies, I'll include something we observed for the first time last year and have never really seen before or since --a mama squirrel with 3 babies in tow, out on their home school "field trip" while mama taught them how to prepare for their lives out in the big world.  It was so cute.  Each one had to hop up on the stump we have our little lighthouse sitting on by the edge of the pond.   There's something about stumps and squirrels.

We were in town earlier and I heard a little boy giggling and laughing with abandon -- it sounded so much like my little four year old grandson! [who lives in Montana]  I peeked around the aisles and sure enough - this little boy was about the same age and his daddy was making him laugh.  "Do it again dad" he'd say and then just belly laugh.  It was infectious -- so cute!  Made me miss my grandson.  They grow up so fast and become worldly too soon and lose that kind of spontenaiety where they laugh like that - so that is something to be cherished while you can.

Oh - I just realized - Mother's Day is coming up this Sunday, so I guess this blog is really appropriate for that.  So Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there!