Where Did that Butterfly go?

I am almost never alone now. When not with Bow, I am either accompanied by the kitten or surrounded by the dogs. This makes chasing butterflies a little difficult.

Bow oversees all backyard activities

When in the backyard, I am supervised by Bow in all my activities.  For Bow,  it's not always what he can touch -- sometimes just seeing is good enough. While Brownie and Leo can come in close and physically interfere in what I am doing, Bow can make vocal commentary, which can sometimes have a similar effect.

Yesterday afternoon I saw a red-spotted purple butterfly in the backyard.

 But coming in closer for a better look was a challenge.

First the dogs had to come in closer, and later Bow had his say, which was distracting, so that I lost sight of the butterfly.


Eventually I found it again, but the situation was less than ideal. It isn't much better on the other side of that eight foot fence, though. In the front yard, after a rain, the butterflies like to warm themselves on the outer road. That's where Nala the kitten comes in.

Nala looks innocent while a Pearl Crescent flies right over her

Nala will innocently plop down on the warm gravel road and start rolling around, placing herself right in the path of an oncoming pearl crescent.

The butterfly flies right over her and she hardly notices.

Sometimes Nala does seem to be interested in the butterflies, but the method that works best is not when she chases them, but when she lies still.

Can you see the butterfly hovering right over Nala's right eye?

Only rarely can I capture a picture of a Pearl Crescent sans kitten.

It is easier to get closer to the butterflies if there is not also a cat or dog or chimpanzees in the vicinity directing all activities.

And the obeservation of a Monarch that chooses our side of the fence over the neighbors is much easier without the presence of a cat critic.

Bow's outings are important.

But so are mine.

And sometimes the views that give us the greatest peace of mind are not those closest to hand.  It's not always what you can touch -- sometimes just seeing is good enough.

The wide open spaces that I don't own can give me the most perspective.

Cowboy Meets Nala

Anytime something interesting happens outside, I share the footage with Bow.

The most interesting thing that happened yesterday was a chance meeting between Nala the kitten and Cowboy, the neighbor dog.

I was just out there enjoying the wildflowers by the fence and watching the insects that buzzed and fluttered around them.

The kitten, Nala, has taken to following me wherever I go, and on hot days, she naps in the shade while I chase butterflies.

While I was on the lookout for Monarchs, and searching between the blooms of the bidens artistosa, along came Cowboy, the neighbor dog.

Everybody in the neighborhood knows Cowboy by name, and we all accept him on our land, because he is an exceptionally well mannered dog. He does not chase livestock. He does not tease my dogs, and in general he seems to understand the rules of civilized behavior. But Nala had never met him before, and she was very defensive.

It took quite a few minutes before the standoff was over. Cowboy was friendly, but he did not force himself on Nala. He just circled her at a discreet distance, with his tail wagging.

Eventually, a truce was established. Nala rested in the shade, and Cowboy stayed far away from her.

This arrangement left me the time to watch a Monarch butterfly on my side of the fence as it made its way to the other side.

Should dogs be allowed to roam free, even when they are owned? It depends on the dog. If he is well behaved, why not? There was a time when all dogs roamed free, and when they behaved badly they were shot. This left only well behaved dogs roaming the streets, the fields and the pastures.

It seems counter-intuitive, but a laissez faire policy -- both toward the dogs and towards the people who have to defend their property from unruly dogs -- is ultimately much more humane and results in a much happier situation for both dogs and humans than a policy of zero tolerance for strays and zero tolerance for property owners defending what is theirs with a gun.

I saw a situation where strays wandered free when I lived in Taiwan: The Strays of Tamsui. The dogs were well behaved and would not even accept food from a stranger on the street. They stayed well clear of passers-by, and they never formed hostile bands. Some people that I spoke to about how idyllic this situation was told me I was naive. There had been great cruelty to dogs that led to this well behaved population of strays. I was not being naive. I understood that a balance has to be struck.

I understand that dogs can form gangs. I have seen this with my own eyes here on my land. I have had one dog killed by other dogs, and I have had to stand my ground and defend against attacking dogs, long before there was an animal shelter in this county. I am not naive.

But here is the takeaway: if you want to be able to allow nice dogs like Cowboy to roam, you need to take the risk that every once in a while, a stray may have to be shot by a landowner. This is part of the process that creates a balance. Balance is not some kind of hippy notion of peace and flowers. Balance means the give and take that allows us to move freely among others, with each individual respecting the rights of others. If you take away all the guns and the freedom of motion, that balance can never be established. And that's true about free range children, too, and maybe someday chimpanzees as well.

After all, we did the same with humans in general. We didn't just miraculously become more enlightened until it became safe to walk among strangers in peace. We just culled out those among us with the more violent tendencies. Sometimes people forget that.

"Just Don't Talk to the Cat"

I have found that if I do a little mowing in the backyard every day, it does not have to become an overwhelming chore.

Leo is very invested in my mowing

I can take lots of little breaks to smell the flowers.

The Asian dayflowers bloom early each day and then wilt

Leo and Brownie and Bow are all there to participate, each in his own way.

Bow watches me as  I mow from inside the outer pen

Sometimes I will take a break on the trampoline, and can view everything that is happening in the yard from a nice vantage point.

Of course,  I am not as high up as, say, a kitten on the roof, but that is okay.

Even though I have only mowed about half the yard today, I can take time off when lunch comes around. Later Bow suggests that I go out for a walk in the front yard. I ask him why, and he says because it is good. But he adds: "רק אל תדברי עם החתול". "Just don't talk to the cat."

I don't talk to the kitten, but there is no way I can keep it from talking to me, as it meows at me from the roof as I go out the front door for my walk.

In the pasture there are many new flowers I have not seen before.

Because the path through the pasture passes right by the barn, I have been avoiding it, thinking this would get the kitten to following me.

But now that I know that the kitten does not spend any time in the barn at all, and that it is on the roof all the time, I feel better about venturing into this unspoiled wilderness without an exotic carnivore at my heals.

I can observe the  bumblebee on the blossom without fear of disturbance from a feline follower.

"This blossom is occupied," said the beetle to the bumblebee.

On my way back down the path after completing a circuit of the pasture, I encounter a couple of turtles. They are going single file, one after the other.

Could it be mating season? Is this a male pursuing a female? (My turtle expert, Pam Keyes later confirms this.)

Just then I hear a meowing in the background.

The kitten suddenly appears and moves in to investigate.

Just let me check what it smells like!

This is a bit disturbing. What would a kitten do with a turtle, if left to its own devices? It backs away from the turtles when I am watching, but I do not trust it alone with them.

Eventually, as the kitten will not go far so long as  the turtles are still there and I am still there, and I am concerned about what might happen if I leave first, I pick up the kitten by the scruff of its neck  -- which it allows, as I am like a mother cat when I do this -- and I lock it momentarily in a storage building where we keep discarded toys.When I return moments later to check on the turtles, they are nowhere in sight. They move fast when you are not looking! So I go back and let the kitten out of storage. It follows me all the way home, and once I am inside it probably goes back up on the roof.

I meant to do as Bow asked and not talk to the cat, but  that is more easily said than done.