Harry’s Return

Well, things around the pond have recently maintained a steady hum of moderate activity. Ducks, mostly mallards, have dropped in throughout migration season. However, their visits have dwindled slightly since last year. Don’t know what that means. We keep things as clean and avian friendly as we can around here. Humming birds, robins, flickers and other winged critters have issued not a whine. Though our wood duck and bluebird houses have had “For Sale or Lease” signs on them all spring. Another story. Even the fish are quiet. Perhaps they fear another bruin ruin. A few years ago a bear joined them for a swim and consumed a few of the poor little critters in the process. They didn’t like it.

if things weren’t bad enough for them, a heron (Harry to us earthlings, at the insistence of my lovely bride who thinks that all of Mother Nature’s creatures deserve the dignity of a name) dropped in. Its first visit of the year. It settled in for a late morning brunch. Piscatorial panic.

There is a bright side. The lawn was mowed once again today. This always inspires a regular fish bacchanal as they follow the mower alongside the bank. Really. The grass carp scarf up all of the grass that is thrown into the pond. The bass do a coup de grass on the unfortunate crickets and grasshoppers that go along for the ride. The fish are actually getting pretty smug about all of this. I’m sure they think that the mower is some kind of robotic slave that they’ve programmed to serve in this process.

The rest of pond action is pretty much as usual. Chuck, the resident groundhog romps around at will. Or at anything that catches his fancy–or whatever. Squirrels abound and field mice scurry around in the rock garden. Isn’t that what field mice do? Scurry? A small herd of deer (Or cull, according to Webster. Did you know that? You’re welcome.) drop in every evening.

Which is is now. Where’s my Scotch?