Grandaughter Tangeni and her dad were out in their back yard taking pictures last night after a rain storm.  It looks close enough to touch, so there must have been a big pot of gold in the woods just over the hill . . . !
 
We had a little rain here, and I looked for a rainbow, but didn't see one.  I had .17 in. of rain in my measuring tube this morning, and everything looks green and fresh!  The leaves are not as open as they seem to be in Waterford (above), but we are a little higher in elevation than they are, I think.  We'll get there!

Here's recycling taken to the disgusting extreme - but I guess it's just normal behavior in the animal kingdom.  Woody has a habit of gulping his food and then regurgitating - yesterday in the driveway.  After he'd come back in the house for a reload, one of our crow friends swooped in for a feast.  Soon after the rain came, problem solved - no cleanup necessary.  I know, I probably shouldn't have shared this, but I'm just impressed with the efficiency of the natural world.  Crows do us a huge favor by keeping the carrion in woods and on roads cleaned up.

We heard a really awful story about nature yesterday.  Fred picked up kitty food at St. Johnsbury Animal Hospital yesterday and happened to ask if the very big hawk we've seen here recently would bother a cat.  That seemed to be debatable, but then the  conversation continued to other large birds and one of the office staff told about logger friends taking down a large tree that unexpectedly had an eagle's nest in it.  In that nest were several cat collars.  I guess that answers the question of whether an eagle can and will take a cat for lunch.  It's horrifying, but again, normal in the natural world.  It's a good reason to keep our pets inside, however.  We are thankful that Woody is not inclined to roam far from the house or back yard these days, and mostly he spends his time sleeping inside during the day and evenings sitting on the deck listening to the frogs singing and observing the nighttime activity of other nocturnal creatures.  We want him to be able to enjoy the outdoors since that has always been his nature; but we also want him to be safe.  He has a full set of very large, sharp claws, just in case.