Inappropriate Place for a Camera

This picture says "If You Find This Facility Unsatisfactory, Contact Fire Department." What's unusual about that? It's in a public restroom. Now I want everyone to know that I don't normally take pictures in public restrooms, but this was irresistible. It's at a park on Jekyll Island, GA, a barrier island off the coast of Brunswick, Georgia that's two-thirds undeveloped by state legislation.



It's a small island, so I guess the fire department does pretty much everything. It's also one of the most beautiful places on earth, along with its sister Sea Islands. The area has gorgeous marshes, history, coastal forest, and pretty beaches.



My family's originally from the Brunswick area, so I may be biased, but the live oaks with their Spanish moss alone make it worth the trip. We were there over the last few days, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect.



I love where I live, but there's something about the beach that's so relaxing...

Foot-Petting a Goat

I'm not kicking this goat, I promise. My husband and I were sitting on the bench by the pond, admiring the afternoon. I had my legs crossed, and Arlene the goat came up and gently but insistently pushed her head up under my foot. She wanted to be petted, and she didn't care how.

I foot-petted her for a moment, then she ran off to play again.

After having these goats, I understand now that petting zoos aren't for the children...they're for the goats!

Playmates...Sort Of

I think our cat Irving has attention deficit disorder. Our other cat, Halley, tries to get him to focus on playtime, but he gets distracted easily.



She's just dying to play, but he doesn't even notice.



She finally gets him into it....



...and then he's distracted again.



Poor Halley...

The Vultures...Uh-Oh

After the vultures finished off the remains of our duck, Mrs. Howell, they settled in on the fence. My husband got this picture of them apparently watching to see who might be next.



Hmmm. If you look at the picture a little more closely...

...the second vulture from the left is actually watching the house.

I think I'm glad they were gone by the time I got home.

When the Vultures Come

Mrs. Howell, our white female duck, died last week. She was fine one day, and then all of a sudden she was floating in the pond.


We're pretty sure this fellow caused it. I probably shouldn't say how, but when I saw him at the flea market and thought how beautiful he was, I wasn't thinking about how much bigger he was than our female ducks.


Let's just say that ducks can be rough with each other this time of year. I've read that drowning of female ducks has become a bigger problem as domestic ducks get bigger and wild ducks don't, but I would have thought Mrs. Howell was big enough for it not to be a problem.

The vultures showed up for her today. Cycle of life....

Playful Goats

It was really pretty here yesterday, and the goats are starting to feel like spring. They were romping and playing all over the pasture, with Irving the cat sitting watching them. They almost ran him down a couple of times, and he never flinched.

In the scene below, Emma charged Arlene as she reared up and stomped...



...and then Arlene chased Emma out of the frame...




....leaving only a cloud of dust behind.



Today is rainy and back in the 50's. We're all so ready for spring to arrive and stay!

Burning - Scary Close

Yesterday I posted pictures of the smoke caused by a controlled burn of the large pine forest behind our house. At the same time, I got pictures of the fire by standing at our back fence line and pointing the camera through the trees. You can see how close the fire got. It's not on our property, but just barely.



I could hear it crackling.



It was in a line all along our back property line. I'm speculating that they were making a firebreak. We're not sure if it'll stop with that, or if they'll continue to burn more of the forest.



I'm confident it's well controlled, but it definitely gives me more empathy for people who have had homes (or lives) threatened by wildfire. I can't imagine looking at that and knowing it was uncontrolled and couldn't be prevented from taking my home.