Life in the Slough

A river otter lives in the slough out back. He has been seen chasing ducks. We are wondering if there is a pair with young. I need to sit quietly in the woods for a time with a view of the slough to see what there is to see.
I noticed a large hole that must be an animal's den in the woods. Haven't smelled skunk, and wonder who's living there. We took the unused bird house down and discovered some yukky looking caterpillars had taken up residence. Small wonder the birds didn't build. Maybe next year. The Ruby Throat comes regularly to the hummingbird feeder. Makes all the hassle of cleaning it out and replacing the sugar water worth while.
Tomtoes are ripening and reasonably tasty. Corn is great this year. I made peach muffins and a peach pie with the peaches we picked. Thinking of a peach/blueberry cobbler next, and just plain old sliced peaches served with cream and sugar aren't bad.
While S.O. is in Europe, I'll make parmesan chicken wings, which he does not like. There are people who love to gnaw bones and them that don't. In that respect, we are like Jack Sprat and his wife. I am the gnawer. I even like the marrow, which grosses him out.
Baby sparrows are gobbling down huge amounts of seed in the front feeder, and woodpeckers are chomping down the suet in back. We got a new thistle seed feeder after noticing some goldfinches. I haven't seen them on the new feeder yet.
When the world goes crazy, nature offers calm and compensation.

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