My water heater literally just got installed like an hour ago. I am still flushing out the air in the pipes and the paranoia will last for at least a day. The basement is still a sloppy mess, but hopefully tomorrow I'll be all settled in and life will be back to normal.
I also discovered that the mice have broken their traps and have eaten all the peanut butter and have been able to escape from each trap. So I'll need to buy some new traps.
I tried to find Cashew again this weekend. I did see a bunch of similar sized painted turtles, but I don't think any of them were her. At least she has some friends and possible love connex. In my haste, I forgot to bring my real camera so I was stuck with the camera phone. I decided to hit the other hot turtle spots in the area since the weather was nice. Actually one spot I usually only see frogs and snakes, but this time I saw a muskrat mom and her baby! They were right by the boardwalk and I guess cleaning themselves. I struggled to get a good shot and I slowly manuevered closer but mom took off. She dove right into the muck and baby followed later and I got a better shot of her. I really can't say that they are particularly cute....kind of like big water rats .
I continued my search for Cashew this weekend. No luck so far but I've seen a bunch of smaller painted turtles so she has some good company. The blueberries and huckleberries are ripe so I sampled a bunch. Yum! The swamp azaleas are blooming and are quite fragrant.
The day lilies are also blooming. Once they get started in a spot, the can take over the whole place and form a sea of lilies.
The muskrats have been quite visible although from a distance or for such a short time a good shot is impossible. It's comical to see them jump into a mud pit and watch the bog quake and shimmy when they are burrowing through. 
