Wood Duck

We've been busy 'dotting our i's and crossing our t's' this week , as in getting everything in order before our guests arrive.

In between doing groceries, cleaning both the RV and the office, making sure everything is in it's place and working, I'm making some time to go outside to relax a little .. it always works.
That mama wood duck above is here every day. The nest must be close-by since those ducklings can't fly yet!

                                             

This is another pond-dweller .. a Bullfrog!                                                  

                      

 
They get their name from the sound that males make during the breeding season, which can resemble a bull bellowing. We have quite a few in the pond and they're LOUD!

They can grow to over 6 inches in length have fang-like projections on their lower jaw and have a fierce bite! Because of their large size and voracious appetite, bullfrogs out-compete and prey upon many indigenous species.

                            

It's the busy season for most animals right now. Almost all have youngsters to raise at the moment and especially the birds are flying off and on to their nests to feed the hungry little tikes.
I managed to get a few shots of this Violet-green Swallow which is an aerial insectivore, catching and eating its prey on the wing, as much as 60 insects per hour, a whopping 850 per day!

Funny enough this particular one build it's nest in one of the owl boxes that are hanging on the grey barn next to us.
I guess it likes roomy living quarters!

                                                                 

This series of pictures took me almost an hour to make, divided over two days, since these tiny birds fly very fast and erratic and there was no way of knowing if one would land at the nest-opening unless it actually did .. but just for a few seconds before taking off again!

                               

These three male (White-tail) deer are visiting almost every evening for a little snack in the meadow to the side of us:



I hope they stick around and keep showing up for when my sister arrives!

James has worked on a few things we wanted to do already for a while but didn't get to yet. Funny, when hen you have guests coming, a lot of things suddenly get done ..




Here he's attaching some boards (after I painted them) to the pallets and underside of the RV so you don't see the 'stuff' we have stored underneath like some pipes, various hoses and wires.
It also helps blocking the wind blowing through the gap underneath the RV, coming from the other side to the sitting area on this side ..

                                                 

                                             

                            Much better!

                                              

And almost all of the office stuff that was living in the RV and made up James' office for the last year or so has been moved to the brand-spanking-new office 2 days ago!

It has created a lot of room in the RV. To compare, here's a pic of the old situation:

And here it is now!

My spinning wheel finally has some room to breath, cramped as it was between the couch and one of the big recliners.
Now of course I have a new problem .. what to with that empty wall-space below the clock!
A shelf for a book or two or a small plant or for maybe for some spinning tools?
Decisions, decisions ..

Here's a last picture of my raised beds. Some of the herbs are showing some growth but the rest is still pretty much dormant.
I reckon it's still a little too cold, or at least the soil is  .. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

And so, the wait is on, one more day to go .. Yes, they're arriving tomorrow!
Yeahhhh! I'm so excited!