Photo of the week ~ 25

This week’s Photo of the week had a real nautical theme. That crazy Humpback , Hancock had 3 photos in the running and his antics carried the day. Weighing in with a total of 25 points Tail Waving is the photo of the day.

Tail Waving

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Don’t forget to visit my companion photo blog to have your vote counted. www.dustyroadsphotos.com

See you there!

Shhh! It’s a Secret.

I found a very interesting place but it’s a well kept secret. I’d heard rumors about this place for two years before I found it. My best lead came from a chance encounter on a whale watch last summer. That person had the name of the area but couldn’t give me directions.

Slowly I narrowed down the location. It’s such a secret place that even the state game warden I asked had never heard of it. But I kept looking .Unlike so many conservation areas that are being exploited and over run by humans,  this one is still largely undiscovered. Back in March I think I finally found it.

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Back then it was snow covered but now it’s a walk in the woods.

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I did meet some folks along the way, mostly dog walkers.

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As I followed the trail I spotted several lady slippers. Not too close to each other, they prefer to stand solitary.

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As I skirted a muddy section of the trail I could tell the trees ahead were thinning and then there it was. My destination.

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A huge  beaver pond spread out in front of me. The signs of beaver were very apparent.

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The trail followed the shore a bit and I spotted the beaver lodge but no beavers.

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Dead trees towered above the  still water.

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Almost every dead tree was crowned with a huge nest and perched in each nest was a blue heron chick. They are about a week from fledgling so they are almost as big as the parents. By next week the sky will be filled with all these young birds testing their wings.

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The sound was amazing. The chicks were making a chirping that sounded almost like peepers. There were so many chirping all at once that it was quite loud. When some of the adult birds began to come back to feed them the drop off in the noise level was very noticeable just like the way it gets quieter in a human household when dinner is served.

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The surface of the pond was covered with either duck weed or algae, I really couldn’t tell which from my vantage point. A family of geese weaved their way among the dead tree trunks.

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What a great find! I hope this place remains a “well kept secret” for a long time to come.

Thumbelina’s Story

Tiny Thumbelina is a fairy tale; a tiny girl whose adventures include toads , moles and naughty boys. Eventually like all good fairy tales, she finds her true love, a flower-fairy prince just her size.

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When Mama goat had a pair of twins  this spring there was a tiny surprise, a 3rd sibling but so tiny. Only about 1/3 the size of her brother and sister. She was very weak. The farmer watched closely but long after her siblings were on their feet and nursing the tiny goat-ling just lay in the hay.

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It did not look good for the tiny baby. But the farmer was not going to give up so easily. He scooped up the tiny creature who was so small she fit in the palm of his large hands. He gently took her into the house where he cleaned her up and began the long process of hand feeding her.

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She needed her mother’s milk with it’s special immunity giving properties so the farmer milked mama so that the littlest goat could have the same nutrition as her bigger brother and sister. It was nip and tuck at first but once the farmer knew his little charge would make it he named her Thumbelina.

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By the time Thumbelina was 3 weeks old she was hopping and careening around the yard and head butting the pet dog Bandit.  Bandit doesn’t seem to mind and follows the little terror everywhere.

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She follows farmer as he goes about his chores. She has clearly bonded with the gentle man who saved her. She is too small for the barnyard so she lives in a child’s playpen in the house as a family pet.

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Yes Thumbelina has become a healthy, if tiny, 3 week old kid. She is 6 inches tall and weighs about 4 lbs. It looks like Thumbelina, the pygmy goat, has found her happy ending just like the fairy tale.

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Thumbelina is  a pygmy goat but tiny even for that breed.