Today Bebe encountered her first snapping turtle. I spotted this one crossing the grass near the kitchen garden and hurried inside for the camera, hoping the dogs wouldn’t notice it until I returned. No such luck. Blue and Ralphie, both older and turtle-wise, observed from a safe distance while Bebe investigated. She barked. She pounced. [...]

Damp creek mud filled the rough crevices of its shell, and bits of algae and moss clung here and there. I wonder how many times I’ve passed this fellow and thought just another stone in the creek bed.

Interesting eyes on this rugged, gnarled face.

This morning as I settled into position for the morning milking, I heard new voices complaining in the stall across the barn aisle. Hmm. Interesting. My sleep brain hadn’t yet grasped the significance when a scuffle began. The disturbance upset the cow, and that’s sufficient cause for me to set the [...]

Just down the road there’s a patch of prairie, blooming with native flowers. It’s owned by a friendly neighbor who doesn’t mind me wandering about, snapping photos. About a week ago, the Indian Paintbrush hit it’s prime, and its bright splashes of color dominated the field. This week, the yellows and blues are gradually [...]

The goslings have outgrown their day pen, so today I let them run free in the yard. They particularly like the shady leaf litter behind the henhouse.

The sweet, heavy fragrance of the early wild rose blossoms can’t cover the nasty odor from Bebe’s most recent skunk encounter. She tried rubbing it off in the grass, rolling in the straw, and rolling in the creek. Late yesterday afternoon she finally settled down to pout under this creekside patch of wild roses.

Technically it’s a gray treefrog, Missouri’s most common species of treefrog. I tracked it by sound to this perch on the rip of our above-ground pool. Since it sounded more like “a birdlike, musical trill” than “a buzzer”, I concluded, with the help of the Missouri Department of Conservation’s website that my visitor is an [...]