The Week in Review

BobCat got sprayed by a skunk.  That's right.  We've got another skunk living under the barn right beside the house, and he or she is one of the biggest I've ever seen.  Maybe we'll have more skunk babies in the summer?

Thank dog for Thiotrol.  Bob now smells like flowers.

Bob and Tessie are very much in love:

These two are a scream.  Check out the patented simultaneous rear paw action.  I sometimes find them cuddling on a chair that is far too small for their combined heft, both enraptured in one another.  It's almost embarrassing, walking in the room and finding them snuggling.  One or both look up at me, somewhat disgusted, and I back my way out of the room, peeking in from the door frame, sorry to have disturbed them.

I saw my first robin yesterday.  This may or may not be a good sign.  I hope this poor bird hasn't spent the entire winter here, as they are sometimes known to do. Either our winter was warm enough and they did, or spring is around the corner and this bird knows something we don't.  Judging by the looks of the 15cm of snow we got today, I'd say spring's not around the corner, and maybe this particular robin is of the very hardy persuasion.

I also saw a ruffed grouse.   At first, I drove by, recognized what I thought was a grouse, and put my car in reverse to have a closer look.  He stood still and craned his neck, totally camouflaging himself.  I love these birds, they're just like transformers. You wouldn't have believed it was the same bird.  They are so invisible in the forest, blending in so exquisitely that you only notice them when they shoot up from the ground with loud flapping of their wings, heart-attack optional.

If the weather permits, I'm going snowy owl spotting on Sunday.  Rumour has it there's a pair close by.  I'll have to stake out the spot and keep my fingers crossed.  Eric saw one a few weeks ago, but he was in Toronto, and he saw it at the airport, hardly a choice area for bird-watching.  I was still jealous since I haven't seen one yet.  The other day, I thought I saw one, and excitedly grabbed my glasses, clutched my binoculars, and said a quick prayer that my dream-bird was indeed there.  Alas, it was a plastic shopping bag, hung up on a tree branch, moving gently in the wind.  The cruelty of it all.

On a completely unrelated note:  this winter, I thought I'd be ahead of the curve if I stockpiled dry cat food and cat litter.  Costco had one of these great offers - a 10 kg bag of dry Whiskas (the only dry food all our cats agree on) had one of those rebate coupons, so I optimistically grabbed 2 bags, saved something like 7 bucks, and hoped this would see Bob and Tessie through the winter.  One 10 kg bag fills the Rubbermaid bin I store in laundry room, and the other bag...well...let's just say I stored it in our locked storage shed, and periodically checked the bag.  It didn't SEEM compromised, until I went to pick it up and bring it in the house.  Yup.  Our mice must be the best fed mice in the area, because they stashed 5 kilos of cat food in no time at all.  The little buggers.  They beat me at my own game.