Four Peepers and a Bear Scat

A few times each year we think about moving, to find a smaller house to clean and heat, a shorter driveway to clear of snow, less yard to care for, and where we could walk to a store or the library. These thoughts usually last about an hour or two. In that span of time we remember all the reasons we'd rather not move, at least now yet.

Today--despite the sweltering hot temperature and high humidity--I saw a few things that just reinforced why we are staying put. On my yard walkabout this morning to collect Japanese beetles into a soapy yogurt container, I spotted four different spring peepers. In the morning, the backyard is shaded and heavy with dew, so the tiny frogs sit comfortably on broad leaves and wait for prey--spiders, flies, ants, beetles. They get a bit restless when I loom over them with my iPhone camera, but they usually cooperate.

My next morning "chore" was harvesting veggies from the garden (first remembering to turn off the electric fence): broccoli, summer squash, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, Swiss chard, lettuce, arugula.

To avoid the worst of the heat, I took Kodi and Henna on our daily walk to a nearby conservation area,just down the road a bit. We always see something there: a family of turkeys, snakes, turtles, hawks, mink, deer, signs of coyotes. This week, including today, I spotted large, fresh piles of dark scat full of berries.

Okay, not the best transition from the lovely collection of fresh vegetables, but I'm interested in animal droppings too. I'm fairly certain a black bear is leaving these piles, a mammal that is not that common in this part of New Hampshire. Kodi did seem a little more alert and turned back before we got too far. It could have been the heat, but I think he smelled the bear.

Four peepers and a bear scat. It doesn't get much better!