Natural Cycles

The waters are filling up with herring (yay!) and not just the little ones. The adults are still growing but many are 6″ to 7″ long. There are some whales – Minkes so far – and the inevitable whale chasers. The seals and kingfishers and eagles are enjoying a banquet.

Now I don’t want to jinx anything, however this year so far does have similarities to 2018 – the Year of the Herring. I remember it well because of course World Cup. That tournament is also scheduled for this year. Coincidence? Maybe (OK probably) but also perhaps the Universe assigns 4 year cycles to more than just amazing football.

It could be a good summer (knock on wood) and not just for the fishermen. All the hungry birds and sea creatures collecting in the area will also get their share.

I don’t remember if that year we also had an explosion in the hummingbird population – but damn, there are a lot of them right now. Their babies are venturing out into the world and they’re hungry. I filled one feeder with 2 cups of syrup yesterday morning and it’s almost empty.

3 or 4 of the little ones feed at a time and they’re really noisy. My cats are enjoying the theatre and visiting felines are on the hunt (I don’t just have neighbourhood dogs in my yard).

As cute as the birds are, keeping them fed for the next few months will be a challenge. It will also involve some drama as they start to develop their territorial instincts and fights break out. Somebody suggested (again) that I get goats. Even if I thought the visiting dogs could deal with them in an adult manner, I really don’t need any more mouths to feed.

I’ve told you about the young Tree Walker Coon Hound a friend has acquired. It’s a gorgeous dog – unlike the usual beagle colouring she’s got a solid reddish gold coat. She’s friendly and clumsy and loud and growing. I’d guess she’s about 50 pounds now.

Her name is Bayley and she’s in heat.

Fish has been trying to make babies with her since the first day they met. His efforts have quadrupled now that her scent has gotten stronger and she’s, um, in the mood to consent. sigh

The last thing I need is a bunch of puppies. They’d be a very odd looking bunch but I’m not that interested in knowing what the two of them would produce. The other day at the Hospital they asked me why I had so many bruises – if they could see me trying to separate two horny dogs in a car they’d have known. 🙂