Sadie
On a past Friday, I thought I could beat the rain, but I didn’t. We needed the good downpour. However, I was a little uncomfortable being soaking wet and a few acres from the comforts of a dry home. The dogs didn’t mind, they had already been swimming in the neighbor’s pond.
Clem
I thought I could keep the dogs dry during the following Saturday’s walk. I didn’t.
I decided that it was cool enough that Sadie, Clem and Gus didn’t need to swim in the neighbor’s pond.
Sadie, a Newfoundland, was always the hardest to keep out of the water. I kept repeating “Drinks only, no swim.” Unfortunately, sly Sadie would often pretend to get a drink and then lay down in the water.
I decided that it was cool enough that Sadie, Clem and Gus didn’t need to swim in the neighbor’s pond.
Sadie, a Newfoundland, was always the hardest to keep out of the water. I kept repeating “Drinks only, no swim.” Unfortunately, sly Sadie would often pretend to get a drink and then lay down in the water.
Gus
| That Saturday, treats were used to distract the dogs while I quickly grabbed a card from the trail camera at the pond. We then proceeded around the pond as fast as possible to stop any last-minute dips. However, we still had another creek to cross that Sadie liked to “fall” into. We managed to cross the stream without incident with the aid of more treats and the distraction of a chipmunk. However, the lake effect showers were deceitful that day. One minute the sun shined. Then the wind picked up and the rain came. So much for dry dogs. We headed for the nearest conifer tree, which was a hemlock. I have found that with a light rain, sheltering under a large white pine or hemlock tree will keep you somewhat dry. |  |
I thought the rain had subsided when we headed out from under the tree. It didn’t. Thankfully, I had a jacket on due to the previous day’s miscalculations.
Sadie
I thought it would be easy to dry off the dogs when we got home.
| It wasn’t. I got distracted by a fungus that I wanted to photograph. I didn’t notice that Sadie decided to squat in a puddle she found. Puddle squatting is worse than pond swimming as it leads to more mud. When drying the dogs off with a pet dryer, I would often get sandblasted with whatever debris was in their fur. Thought I had all the trail camera cards last Saturday, but I didn’t. Apparently in my haste to keep the dogs dry, I put the cards in my jacket pocket and not my backpack. I guessed that somewhere along the way a card fell out of my pocket and into the wilderness. I wasn’t’ so much mourning the loss of the card as I was sad that I would be missing a week of photos. I thought could find the lost trail camera card by walking the goats. I didn’t. |  Wild turkeys  Milo and Otis  Milo |
However, Milo and Otis got a decent walk around the pond trail circuit. We did not attempt any water crossing during this outing.
Otis
I thought I knew what the goats would like to eat.
I didn’t.
It turned out that Milo and Otis have slightly different tastes than Kyle and Kennedy had. Kyle and Kennedy were never impressed with any of the apples in our yard but loved crab apples. Milo and Otis discovered the apple tree and make a beeline for it whenever they can. Kyle and Kennedy voraciously trimmed the overgrown forsythia plants in the area. Milo and Otis could care less.
I didn’t.
It turned out that Milo and Otis have slightly different tastes than Kyle and Kennedy had. Kyle and Kennedy were never impressed with any of the apples in our yard but loved crab apples. Milo and Otis discovered the apple tree and make a beeline for it whenever they can. Kyle and Kennedy voraciously trimmed the overgrown forsythia plants in the area. Milo and Otis could care less.
| I thought the goats escaped, but they didn’t. A check of a camera that covers the goat pen revealed some brown figures outside the fence. However, the figures turned out to be deer and Milo and Otis remained captive. After some freedom from the pen, Otis had decided that he was a free-range goat. I explained to him that that wasn’t going to happen. |  |
I thought I had enough bird seed in the feeder, but I didn’t.
A trail camera placed in the front yard revealed that the birds weren’t necessarily the reason why I was filling the feeders every day.
A large buck and a doe were draining the bigger bird feeder at night.
A trail camera placed in the front yard revealed that the birds weren’t necessarily the reason why I was filling the feeders every day.
A large buck and a doe were draining the bigger bird feeder at night.
 Gus |  Clem |
I thought had cooperative dogs, but I didn’t.
Clem was cooperative for the sunflower photoshoot. He has learned if he just puts up with the nonsense for five minutes, he will get a treat. Photos of a costumed Sadie(top of this article) had to be captured within the 10-second window of her flinging off the yellow headdress.
Gus just kept heading toward me with a shameful and painful look. It was as if he was pleading with me to take off the stuffed yellow torture device.
Clem was cooperative for the sunflower photoshoot. He has learned if he just puts up with the nonsense for five minutes, he will get a treat. Photos of a costumed Sadie(top of this article) had to be captured within the 10-second window of her flinging off the yellow headdress.
Gus just kept heading toward me with a shameful and painful look. It was as if he was pleading with me to take off the stuffed yellow torture device.
Mexican sunflower
I thought I would have time to photograph some hummingbirds on the flowers, but I didn’t.
I waited around the garden for them to feed on the Mexican sunflowers. I tried to hide, but they spotted me.
Their numbers have dwindled. It was possible that the two or three birds I had visiting my feeder were not my regulars. Therefore, they would be a little more wary of me.
I waited around the garden for them to feed on the Mexican sunflowers. I tried to hide, but they spotted me.
Their numbers have dwindled. It was possible that the two or three birds I had visiting my feeder were not my regulars. Therefore, they would be a little more wary of me.
However, my trusty feeder camera was on the job capturing some of the last of the tiny, winged ones before they headed south. As of Sept. 16, no hummingbirds were visiting that feeder.
Pearl crescent butterfly
I thought the still blooming Mexican sunflowers would bring in some butterflies. They didn’t.
While the hummingbirds would feed on the bright orange blooms, I didn’t observe any butterflies. There were a few fritillaries floating around elsewhere. Near the pond, several tiny pearl crescent butterflies were sighted.
While the hummingbirds would feed on the bright orange blooms, I didn’t observe any butterflies. There were a few fritillaries floating around elsewhere. Near the pond, several tiny pearl crescent butterflies were sighted.
Common eyelash fungus
 Oyster mushrooms with bugs  Birch polypore | I thought I was done finding mushrooms to identify. I wasn’t. The dry weather seemed to have stunted some fungus growth. Nonetheless, I discovered another patch of oyster mushrooms. They were about 20 feet up a tree and had gone to the bugs already. I spent countless attempts to get a good photograph of some birch polypores that were thriving on the remnants of a thin and broken birch tree. A couple of Facebook friends and their apps helped me identify some common eyelash fungus that I found on an old oak tree. |
I thought I wouldn’t write about the weather, but I did.
The U.S. Drought Monitor graphic released last Thursday, Sept. 12, showed continued abnormally dry conditions for most of Venango County.
The U.S. Drought Monitor graphic released last Thursday, Sept. 12, showed continued abnormally dry conditions for most of Venango County.
| “The new Drought Monitor .... shows a slight expansion in drought in OH/WV. A large area of D4 (exceptional drought) still lingers in eastern Ohio. Unfortunately, no precipitation is forecast through at least Tuesday … which will continue to worsen impacts,” the National Weather Service Office out of Pittsburgh posted last week. However, the office offered a little hope with a graphic posted Sept. 15. The illustration depicted a 30 to 40 percent chance of Venango County receiving .50 inches of rain from a tropical disturbance off the coast of the Carolinas. The disturbance is expected to move inland and affect portions of the region by mid-week, according to the office’s Facebook post. However, updated forecasts only called for a 20 percent chance of rain in the region. Wednesday came and delivered some misty sprinkles. The next chance for rain was predicted to be Monday, Sept. 23. According to |   |
National Weather Service data, Franklin’s precipitation to date as of Sept. 16 was 36.48 inches. That total was above the normal of 34.27 inches for that period. The normal precipitation for the month of September for Franklin was 3.94 inches and so far, the region has received 1.91 inches this month, according to weather data.
The normal temperature for September was around 74.2 degrees. However, the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center’s Sept. 23-29 outlook called for a 50 to 60 percent chance of above average temperatures.
The normal temperature for September was around 74.2 degrees. However, the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center’s Sept. 23-29 outlook called for a 50 to 60 percent chance of above average temperatures.
Desmids
I thought the vernal pool would be dry after more than a week with no rain. It wasn’t.
| Upon approach, frogs leapt from the tall grass into the puddle. Water samples revealed quite a few microscopic creatures. Among the most plentiful were desmids. According to the Oxford Dictionary, desmids are” a single-celled freshwater algae which appears to be composed of two rigid cells with a shared nucleus. The presence of desmids is usually an indicator of unpolluted water.” However, the neighbor’s pond was still sporting a green cast to it from a continued euglena algae bloom. I thought I would have time over the past weekends to sit on my front porch and I did. However, I didn’t have as much time relaxing there as Lil’ Bit did. He slept and bathed himself in his hammock. I attempted to take photos of his spa day. However, his bathing involved scenes that were too risqué for photography. |  Lil' Bit |
Things don’t often turn out to be what we thought they would be. That’s just the nature of things ‘round here.
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