McLeod Lake Beaver Dam

A beaver dam broke today letting a bunch of water down the North Fork Snoqualmie River. It has been pretty much been pouring all day so I figured it was a good day to drive and see how the road had fared since it is an area I hike regularly.

It didn't take me long to find the damage:

This is the creek coming from the McLeod Lake and now crossing the North Fork road. There were a bunch of people back there doing road repair and surveying the dam so I was able to find out exactly where the dam used to be.

At first I just spend time around this part where it was draining across the road. Since I hadn't remotely dressed for hiking, I didn't plan on making my way to the beaver dam - but then I accidentally sunk ankle deep in mud.

So once I was already muddy and soaked I decided I should go check out the source - because you know I was dying to anyway. Besides, how else was I going to clean the mud off my shoes.

Nice and clean after crossing the creek in the road:

The trail up to McLeod itself is probably only 1/2 mile. The creek runs along the trail.

The photo doesn't really show the former site of the beaver dam well. McLeod Lake has a miserable swampy growth all around it which is why you can't see the actual lake but it would be off to the left in the photo and the guy with the red pack is somewhat marking the creek outlet.

Because there were witnesses who were far better dressed for the situation I stayed on the high ground for photos rather than go down into the hole which as you can see was incredibly muddy.

Monday Surprise

This morning I was going in the front door and thought I heard a very familiar low level peeping. And looked up to see two baby bird sticking their heads out my wren nest.

Since I hadn't seen the adult wren with a mate; this caught me off guard. All my other wren families have been a 2 parent system. Makes me think that maybe he got killed at some point which is too bad.

By the afternoon there were 4 heads. Doing some online photo comparison, they might be a few days old?

When I first got Rusty and would try and lay next to him he would look at me confused and get up and walk away. He has come a long way (those are my legs he is laying against).

Wren

During the winter, the wrens practically predict the weather for me. I know if they start cramming into the nest (above my only door in and out of the house) that a really cold freeze is coming; and usually within 12 hours of them showing up. A couple of weeks ago however a new resident showed up. I think this one might be a Winter Wren but I am not a birder at all.

Anyway, she lives above my door. And she added some new moss (can you see the flashy addition of green above her head?) so she appears to be staying. I believe wrens are good meat eaters (bugs and spiders) so I am always extra happy to have them around.

I have so much work and stuff going on that I am really not getting much knitting or sewing done, but this current project is a good challenge. It is a Rowan lace scarf pattern. I am actually enjoy the pink of it, even if that isn't much of my favorite color.
This sums up the cats relationship with Pascal (the chinchilla). Pascal and Emile (orange tabby) can hang together like this all day. When Leela (gray tabby) gets on the cage, she has to get off as quickly as possible because Pascal starts trying to get her feet.
Once Rusty is done trying to take my tools and marking the brush piles he usually settles for while I do yard work. I am making the fenced yard more Rusty friendly since it is really his only off-leash opportunity.

"Chatter in the Cherry Blooms" - block #12

Finally I took an afternoon to complete the last block of the At Home in the Woods project. It had a ton of little leaves and flowers involved. I do love the elements that drop into the other blocks or into the border.

Then I got to prepare for quilting. Some of the areas were impossible to get safety pins through - they were too thick.
Neat animal print backing:
And finally, the beginning of some quilting. Which was surprisingly more difficult than I thought. Some of it is just the frustration of not getting the perfect stitching I want.

Yesterday I decided to start another quilt so I would have some piecing to go to when I needed a break from the quilting on this one. It will keep me from rushing it.

I realized quickly that rather than start with the fine tracing on things like animals I should work more on the bigger, background elements. I have had some small pieces (like a ladybug and berry) fall off altogether as the quilt is being folded and manipulated. It is hard to not want to randomly move around and tack down all the pieces that are starting to release first. But I would rather just collect them and be a little more methodical in my quilting. Not to mention it is a pain to be switching all the colors.
Rusty is working really hard at his training, and it is coming along. He actually doesn't have a choice which is totally evident in this photo which shows how he feels about sit-stays:
A huge amount of work is going into his public manners right now. I think actually that might be the face I make when I have reached my saturation during training (the handler really is always the dumb one).

Check out Mr. "Of course I know how to settle in the house":

This is brand new behavior. Three nights in a row now so I am ecstatic. He still tries to get into trouble first but at least now he finally settles. No sleeping yet; but I bet he is close.

Nice Sunny Day

This morning Rusty was in the bathroom with me while I was brushing my hair. I couldn't figure out why he was in there with me (most people's closets are larger than this bathroom so having a person and a dog in there is tight) when suddenly he started barking at the ground and pouncing and stamping his feet.

Once the fly was dead (I have no doubt it was a very evil fly), Rusty picked it up in his mouth, did a death shake, and spit it back on the floor. If Rusty can kill spiders like that I will forgive all the offenses against my home and my car.
I got him a new Nylabone for the yard to see if it will help him settle a bit while I do my yard work and it seems to be helping to encourage him to take some breaks - eventually I kennel him in the house so he will rest that body.

Every once in awhile I would hear some galloping and there would go Rusty; chasing some bug. When he runs it is sort of like watching a pig run - very stiff and ungraceful and very entertaining.

The 3 barks of Rusty

Today when I let Rusty out of his kennel I was getting stuff in the kitchen so I let him go on his own and he continued to head to the door. I heard the familiar sounds of him clipping the broom and dropping it (he isn't a straight walker), complete silence, and then a bark.

I rushed to the door (I can't see the door from the kitchen) thinking today is the day...he is going to bark to go out! Then I came around the door. The broom had fallen across the path and Rusty was on the other side of it (generally when he drops the broom I am with him so I just prop it back up) ; ears flat, eyes squinting and tail rapidly wagging - the doberman standard "I hate this - you fix it." He had called me.

It was then I realized that he has at least three barks I can identify as different: one for me/uncertainty about where I am, one for things like the cats and chinchilla and one for the start of a car ride. It was a great realization for me because I have so little tolerance for dog barking I just tune it out and ignore it - rather than trying to understand it.
Rusty's eye contact and responsiveness is really coming along. He actually sat in front of the gate and turned to look at me on his own - I see his future in posing with my quilts is shaping up nicely. He is a little more wobbly today because we spent too much time in the yard Sunday. In the top photo he is next to the tulips he destructed. Similar to in the house, when he finally gets bored (takes much longer in the yard) he starts seeking out something to move or destroy.

And now, in completely unrelated Rusty news:
The visiting Shepherd went home on Sunday. I never did mix her and Rusty again, but it worked out fine keeping them separate. I am glad it wasn't a permanent thing.
Notice the cows; living the calm life without their bossy bull.

Winter in April

We experienced a hard weather day today. Knowing what the day was bringing, I tried to get up early and head out to Stan's Overlook get us into some snow before the really hard wind and later showers came in.

Unfortunately we did end up hiking a fair amount of it in strong wind; but we also got our snow hiking in - which might be her favorite thing.