Shh, get still and quiet and see what happens...

Happy Saturday friends!

Haven't I said, "It's the little things" a million times now? Brad and I have been talking about making a turtle raft for our pond for a couple of months now. This week he pulled out 4 old cedar posts from the Leaning Tower of Grapes, lashed 2 posts together x2, attached them to each other and created 2 turtle rafts! They are anchored in the corner of the pond closest to us so we can see them sunning from the house. We weren't sure if they would be floating too high for the turtles to use so he put a couple flat pieces of concrete on tone end of them to weigh them down just a bit and ta-da!

Isn't it neat to see these very old cedar logs still red on the inside?

It's really fun to watch them crawl up there. All week, anytime I moved around outside, they would plop back into the pond. On Friday I told them, "You guys are safe here! The reason the rafts are there is because we love you." And a bit later, I went out with Lucy to throw her frisbee in that field that you see in the foreground and lo and behold, the turtles just stayed right where they were! 

It's definitely spring, and a week of wildlife!

One day I went to get in the golf cart that we use to haul hay around so we can fill hay bags. The horses were in the upper pasture and the hay is down by the lower pasture. I climbed in and a bird darted out of the dash and away! My heart! Jeez! I sat there taking a couple of deep breaths to calm down while looking at the dash. Then I saw the nest in one of the dash cubbies. Well. That was an interesting place to put a nest. In a vehicle that is driven around the farm twice a day! The nest was deep and it looked like there were 3 eggs inside!

Later when ManChild went out to do his part of chores, I had him get into the golf cart on the passenger side while I stood back to get the video above. This was a screenshot from the video as she was getting ready to flit away:

So, she is a Carolina Wren and they are not worried birds :-) They lay one egg a day and then sit on them. There were 3 eggs in there that day which meant that she knew how to find her nest, even though we drive that thing all around the farm. Cool. We are trying to not use the golf cart as much as possible though to give her a chance.

More birds:

The duck is still sitting on her eggs too:

I take a quick peek at her everyday and she's always in there! I think her eggs should be hatching soon!

And of course more Green Anole sightings. I was standing on the back deck, contemplating it's fate (probably will remove a lower section this fall) and standing very still—that's when I saw all these. Very cool to be still enough that the critters are no longer worried. This first one lost its tail:

They aren't considered chameleons but they can change colors!

Doing his I'm-a-proud-young-man impression:

Flying critters! A Luna Moth:

Sitting at the table on the front patio writing this newsletter on Friday and, again while I was so still, this Mockingbird came in for a drink:

And a female cardinal on another bird bath:

Bits and pieces that caught my eye. The hot pink of the Japanese Maple's seeds:

I just found out that if I plant these seeds (there is a whole process for that) that I won't necessarily get what the mother tree is—because most Japanese maples are grafted onto heartier root stock. So the genetics are root stock + grafted part + they pollinate with other maples which gives it a third "parent." Interesting. The only way to get the pretty parent is from cuttings that I root. I'm going to try that. And I'm going to try with the seeds too because sometimes growers are surprised with crazy new things they've never seen before by planting seeds! That's one of the ways new cultivars are discovered. A fun experiment!

Pansy faces:

Even more of my jade leaves are growing roots and baby leaves:

The redtips have burst into full and stinky bloom (so weird when beautiful flowers smell icky):

More white oak wool sower galls, aren't these fascinating?? Each red spot houses a tiny wasp larvae (not the big scary wasps that sting).

Tori got a chunk taken out of her hip this week, no blood:

Why? From what I could tell, for being a pushy little pony!

I got a 6 hours of gardening in on Thursday and was the happiest I've been in a long time! I found this on Facebook and laughed:

I smelled like dirt on Thursday, it was wonderful.

I keep trying to get I Love Lucy to stay out with me while I garden but if I'm not throwing the frisbee 24/7 she looks at me like this:

It's easier if I just let Sweetness out loose in the front yard or stake out one of the others. They just hang out and munch grass, it's really pleasant :-)

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I have a friend who is trying to sell her Mom's ground floor condo. If you're looking for a 1 bedroom, 1.5 bath in Cary, check this out! Ground floor, brick building, new carpet and paint, open concept. If you know anyone who might be looking, pass it on please!

HOW TO WORK WITH ME:

Equine Partnered Coaching! With horses, without horses, in-person, or online, your choice. I have just updated the copy on my coaching page to reflect how I've changed my coaching style and why, maybe it resonates with you?

Neurofeedback Train your brain to calm and ease. The most common response I hear about neurofeedback is, "I'm so much less reactive in my life!" It really does smooth out the sharp spikes. Super helpful if your world feels harsh and spiky right now. 

Reiki Another way to facilitate relaxation, calm, healing. If the weather is nice, you can choose inside, outside, or outside in the herd. 

This coming Monday I will be starting a new session of the Monday online art group for adult women. We meet Monday nights online, 7:30-9pm ET. Come as you are, jammies and no makeup are encouraged! It's 4 weeks, $140. Week one we will be painting this fun and easy little 5x7 with cherry blossoms:

And of course Women's Circles! The Wednesday circle has a waiting list, I will add you to it if you'd like.

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This is an AI-free newsletter! While I love to use AI to help me figure out a piece of software I don't understand, my intention is to use it to help me with the drudgery, never with writing, art, creation. All em dashes are intentional and mine, I was using them way before ChatGPT was a twinkle in Sam Altman's eye :-) 

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Thank you for reading :-)

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