Head Up

Another of these simple but profound videos.

Fast Romantics - "JULIA"

Did you know that Fred Astaire is still around, dancing his heart out?

 This video isn't new but I wonder if you've ever seen it? 

Fast Romantics - "JULIA" - Official video

Alison Moritsugu

Alison Moritsugu is a US-based artist and sculptor especially known for her unique paintings on the ends of logs.

Her paintings seem like windows on nature.

Backyard Mystery Mound Update

 

Yesterday I headed out to investigate more closely that suspicious mound in the backyard. I dug into it and found..... nothing. No cute little snouts, no hole underneath. So I discarded the extra dirt and smoothed it over with a rake. Once I'm at home more consistently and can water daily, I'll seed the area and hope for the best. Honestly, after a summer of drought conditions and a non-functioning irrigation system, none of the grass is looking happy in that part of the yard. 

There's a small hole about a meter away which I have seen a chipmunk using. Maybe voles share it.

I don't mind sharing the yard with the wildlife - it just makes life more interesting.

A Mystery

This summer has been a summer of construction at our home near Aurora, Ontario. The gates into our small community have been undergoing replacement for over a year now, a process that has involved the removal of not only the old gates but also the trees and controller box located between the in and out plus the rewiring of the whole thing. Since the gates are located adjacent to our front yard, part of our yard and driveway turned into a construction zone. And since the process is taking so long - not finished yet - weeds have taken hold in the construction area and are about to turn into shrubs. 😠

At the same time, the irrigation system installed 15 years ago and has been slowly failing over the last 8 years finally stopped completely and had to undergo a major repair, involving rewiring and the digging out of long-lost sprinkler heads.

A few weeks ago when a new construction area appeared in our back yard, I didn't give it much thought. 

It's a mound of dirt in the lawn beside the garden. I decided not to panic and just wait for the guys to finish whatever it was they'd started. As you've surmised, nobody arrived to finish off this project, so now I wonder if it's an animal project. There's no discernible hole in the mound but plenty of long-standing small holes sprinkled in the grass nearby. 

So I'm mystified. It hasn't changed its appearance in the last few weeks. I'm thinking about excavating it. What do you think?

Wildebeest

This 2012 video is still amusing, with a gentle message and not overly long or onerous to watch.