Break Time

Almost all the birds are working on nests right now, including the little Downy Woopeckers who excavate a new nest hole in a dead limb or tree every spring.  The male and female both work on the excavation and both also take turns brooding the eggs once the clutch is laid (usually 4-5 eggs).  I've never actually seen a woodpecker nest although I know they nest in our woods every year.  Downy woodpeckers are extremely tolerant of humans which allows for many easy photo opportunities.

We had a fun time at the Brain Games class last night.  There were two other dogs in the class (a golden and a German Shepard) both 2-3 years old.  The Shepard had injuries and was heavily medicated - I would never have taken my dog out in that state, but to each their own.  In any event, the Shepard wasn't particularly friendly most likely because she didn't feel well so we kept a little distance.  The golden was very friendly, not surprisingly.  The instructor introduced several things, the most fun being getting the dogs to recognize a little blue frisbee.  Dogs can see blue and yellow, so the idea is to eventually get Jax to be able to identify both colors by name.  For now we are just working on "blue" by getting him to tap it with nose or paw.  Because there are treats involved, he is motivated to learn and seemed to pick it up quickly.  Less easy for him was the written word "SIT" on a piece of white paper.  And after 40 minutes, all of the dogs were laying down, pooped.  I think we will enjoy this class a lot.  

Two weeks from today I leave for Costa Rica!  Now that the trip is so close, the days are flying by.  I need to start thinking about what all I need to take.  My Nikon d750 is having repairs done and I don't have a time estimate yet, although Nikon is usually pretty fast.  However, if it isn't back I need to decide if I want to trust the old D600 or just rent a second body.  I will use the D850 as my primary.  And I need to think about cloths since I want to treat everything for mosquitos before I go.  These are rather enjoyable things to contemplate though, aren't they?

Jax and I just got back from a walk.  He was well behaved and even listened when I told him to "leave it" for a squirrel.  Helps to have a pocket full of dog treats.

Speaking of treats, I went with plain dark again today.

xo
Debbi