Monday, September 8, 2008

dog days of summer

This is a strange and beautiful place. A peninsula on a peninsula. Gulf on one side and salt marshes on the other. The landscape and light make it seem unearthly at times. We've been walking in the woods more than on the beach, one of the benefits of a dry rainy season.
Archie races his reflection:


Blue and Bette have room to run. A few good rains and this will be under water:


Lucy, Frijolita and Oscar come when they're called (those are salt piles in the background):


pink water:


Bizarre scenery and high temperatures aside, walks have been wonderfully uneventful.

ye old scenic shot of Chester:


Archie having a romp:


They aren't quite big enough for walks yet but they have mastered the stairs.
Tuesday and Gowron wrestle:

pretty girls:


pretty tolerant:


Maldi, the kitten, is doing great. It may look as though she is being harassed here but in fact she is taunting the dogs.
If she keeps this up I'm sure one of the dogs will learn to climb the ladder:


Maldi also likes the chase me up a tree game! Here she stands her ground to Greta:


I love that tree! Moringa is amazing stuff, high in vitamins, good for nursing moms and the seeds can purify water!
It's loaded with seed pods right now (known as drumsticks).
They look like big green beans:


It is usually covered in fragrant blooms and full of birds, bees and moths.
These moths are huge! I had to take pictures of them to figure out what they were.
They sound like hummingbirds but they look like flying crayfish:


Some evenings, dozens of them swarm the moringa tree:


The hummingbirds love the blooms too. There are almost always a few feeding.
Lots of these little green guys:



and a few of these slightly larger, more aggressive, red hummingbirds:

I can't end a dog blog with a picture of a bird so..
beautiful Lucy with the moringa tree in the background: