peepers and ducks

I've been routinely woken up by the "cardinal" alarm these days. A female cardinal that keeps flying or faux "fighting" with her mirror image in my dining room window. The first day, Tater mistook her beak hitting the glass as a, "knock, knock, knock", which sent him out of bed yodeling at the top of his Tater lungs. A few days later- hardly a head lift.

If you live in the country or near some water in the country, "peepers" may be a familiar term. No, we're not talking about the "Tom" variety, but rather small frogs- spring peepers. In late March, when you hardly think any frog would be a' singin' they start to sing at night. Probably some approaching spring mating ritual, because they barely make a peep after late May.

Laying in bed last night, I heard one wayward "peep" and could only assume that maybe there was a frog living in the "pond puddle" in the driveway...

This morning on our way down to the barn, we had a little surprise. A pair of ducks landing or fleeing into the water on top of the pool cover...Sweets was on a mission to eat grass and barely noticed, while Tater just stared, front paw raised as if to say...um...Mom...ducks... They soon waddled out of the water and back to the concrete and pebbles that surrounded the pool.

We also have a mourning dove nesting in the scraggly bush in the front that we'd like to cut down (but apparently not this year). She watches us come and go with a slight head turn and a blink of the eyes.

So, while we have nature happening all around us, Sweets and Tater are content to nap in the sun spots and soak up the rays.