February 4, 2013

The weather has not been kind to the Catawba Grapes this year.

Last year the small vine produced over 90 healthy bunches - this year only about 30 poorly ones.

This was the first cluster that ripened and I decided to pick and taste it before the birds got to it. 

I gave it a good rinse and as I popped the first grape into my mouth, this guy crawl out. Eek!

Quite a crunchy grape it might have been!

February 3, 2013

There is a blue drum on the veranda that catches the overflow from the gutter. 

The collected water is used to water my plants.

Today I noticed tiny insects darting around in the water, surfacing occasionally, probably to take in air. This macro shot shows that the creatures have shrimp-like tails.

They could be the larval stage of some insect and I look forward to seeing what they will become.

February 2, 2013

A dog's life? No. Not after you have met these puppies!

Today I spent some time making bedding for the new babies and also managed to finalise their ID's and weight charts. It was great fun to get to know them! I love the way they 'swim' blindly around the box yet quite accurately find what they were looking for!
(Considering that they cannot yet see or hear)

I refer to it a swimming because they seem to 'doggy-paddle' to drag themselves along.

This is Alex - our 'red boy'. Like his siblings, he knows exactly what he wants from life - food and sleep with plenty of motherly attention and cleaning in between.

It is quite amazing to watch the routine in the box -  I noticed that after having his fill, Alex 'swam' to the appropriate end of his mother to be cleaned and then moved away to sleep.

At first I was worried the the 6 puppies might not get enough nourishment or would not find a spare nipple, but nature sorts itself out along the way. While a few are sleeping, the others would suckle.

I hope to get good shots of the other puppies tomorrow.

The puppies are growing at an amazing rate and now weigh between 221 grams and 250 grams.