Photo Collections

I have been taking photos but now that hubby is home, well, he takes more photos with the honking big camera.  So, it is time to put this up here.  I have organised them into themes.  Enjoy!

MILLIE -

A four year old Maremma, these dogs have historically guarded livestock in Italy.  It is pronounced "mare Emma" whereas I was saying 'mar Emma' which is incorrect.  She likely weighs less than one hundred pounds yet is solid.  She has lots of white hair, which is falling out of her in handfuls at the moment.

Here she is near the roadway.  Yes, that really is a happy smile.  Before coming to us she had no sheep to guard, no work to do.  And she was kept inside with another dog.  Someone came to visit every day or two to feed them and take them out for a walk.  I'm not sure how long life was like this for Millie.

She is always on duty.  She happily lives outside.  The sheep and llamas will go into the barn when it rains but she will stay outside.

Oh, an even bigger grin, here! The camera caught her!

This is the farthest corner of the Front Field.  When she first escaped she spent most of the day in this area.  Since then she hangs around the barn, unless she's checking out the fence lines for predators.





 TURTLES -

We have been really surprised to find several turtles in the pasture on hillsides away from the pond and low ground.  We figured out they are laying eggs.  The eggs are prone to predators for the first 2 weeks as a strong scent remains until then.  In 60 to 90 days there should be many little turtles scrambling around.  These turtles are distinctive to the Frontenac Arch Biosphere where we are located.

The Painted Turtle is not endangered.  We saw one of these out of the pond area.

The Common Snapping Turtle is listed as 'special concern'.  We saw 2 of these in just as many days.  Each time we see one it is larger than the last one we saw.

Note the dinosaur like tail and the moss on its shell!  These creatures do not reach sexual maturity until they are about five years of age.  This has an impact on the fragility of the species.

Even Millie found it interesting!  They look for soft ground and the turtle had located a sandy spot where the llamas often roll to rid themselves of insects.

This one was right up behind the barn having discovered the soft wood chips for digging a nest. 

I found it at about 6:30 in the morning and Mr. Photographer grabbed his equipment between his run and a shower.  This camera - and camera person - takes a much better photo!

This one is larger than the one we had seen the day before. 

What a great face to face shot!

We have marked the calendar for mid August and will be watching for hatchlings.

HENRIETTA -

 
There is a special air about her.  She has this attitude that says, well, a bit of a B---- or Princess - that is, SPOILT Princess!

And she's playful.  Here she is with the lambs, just being a kid.  After all, she's just 3 years of age, a teeny-bopper in llama years, really!

This game we call Queen of the Castle.  She is on the highest possible spot.  She is strutting her stuff!  The posture is upright, erect, stiff, ears back, tail up - the Queen, indeed!

More posturing.  And she shows her derriere, more attitude, for sure!  Ears back, head cocked...










BEAU -

 He is adjusting well to the arrival of Millie.  Mostly this is because they each have their own side of the fence.  In addition, Beau dog really does not care to dominate.  He is pretty confident and well adjusted and just does not need to dominate.

He wants to play!

Each day on the farm - that his people bought for the sole purpose of amusing Beau-dog - there is something stinky in which to roll.

And he is a good boy.  He waits a lot.  We try to have predetermined ball playing times.  Mostly this works.  That is, the waiting and the PLAYING!