Mustela frenata

Have you ever seen a long-tailed weasel? Me neither. Until last night, that is.

Long-tailed weasels (Mustela frenata) are apparently native here, according to the Burke Museum at the University of Washington.

This fellow was very cute. I first noticed that there was this reddish brown creature hopping playfully about the end of my driveway, up by the county road. I figured it was a squirrel, until I realized how large it was, and noticed the strange tail sticking out behind it. As I continued down the drive, it continued to hop about, from one side of the driveway to the other. Eventually, it hopped a short way down the neighbor's drive. I noticed it hopped like a ferret, which I thought unusual, as I had never seen a rich red-chocolate brown ferret before, and certainly not one out in the wild around here.

I wanted to know what kind of creature I was looking at, so I jogged back to the house. Yes, I jogged. Highly unusual, I know, but this was a very exciting moment. Arriving breathlessly back at the house (it's a long driveway, you know), I did a Google Image search for weasels and WA. The image of Mustela frenata was a perfect match!

Of course, since I was just out for my evening stroll down to the end of the road (you know, checking out Mt. Rainier, splash about in the sound, contemplate the beauty of my neighborhood), I didn't bring a camera. What a shame! Luck would have it that by the time I made my way back down the driveway, the little dear had gamboled away.

I am hoping I see this little fellow again - and here's to having a camera on hand!

Bats!

Mike and I were driving down the driveway the other evening, and saw flickery little shapes bouncing about in the air over us. It was a bat, most likely a Little Brown Bat, Myotis lucifugus. We've discussed in the past how we would like to help them along by building boxes for them.

This Seattle Times article has some good basic info about our little brown friend, and a link to a Fish & Wildlife site about building a bat box.

I love bats.

More daylily photos.

Some varieties are winding down, but most have a while yet to go. Really impressive show on them this year.

Daylilies

The bright colors of daylilies are lighting up the gray rainy days. Can't complain about the rain - so rare this time of year and every drop welcome. The daylilies don't seem to mind.

Rainy Day

It's been raining since dawn, and we've had over 1/2" of the strange, unseasonal wet stuff so far today. The tall golden grasses are heavy and hanging low over the edges of the driveway, The firs and willows are still this morning, the normal soft laughter of the wind making way for a velvet song of rain falling on roof, bough, and garden instead. Cats lounge under cover rather than hunt, with a sense of patience and restfulness. They know the sun will come out again soon enough.

The bare soil between the weeds we call a yard is dark with moisture, and water stands in shiny puddles between clumps of dun colored grass and stumps of green thistle. The rock walls and borders look polished, as if for company. Miniature rivers make their joyful way down channels remaining from last winter's monsoons, all the raindrops before them having finally saturated the top layers of soil, leaving them but one happy choice. Water loves to flow down a hill, you know.

Tuck is begging for my attention. It's not enough to simply pet him just now. He doesn't want food, and he certainly doesn't care to go out. He's made his needs perfectly clear - a cuddle on the bed.

On a rainy day like this, what else can one do?

Red, White & Blue

Happy Fourth everyone.

A brief flashback...

... to iris time. Here's a short vid I made while experimenting with the camera. Turn up the volume to hear the birds singing. Better ones will be along next year. This year was just for practice.