Oh just seeing the pictures makes me wish I was back there. Christmas was hectic and rainy. The one Saturday was just beautiful and walk on the W&OD(?) was great, despite a little whining from one who shall remain nameless. You are just out enough to be country. Spring! Usually we go from winter to summer in Boston. They are telling us this week is April weather. If only.

Very pretty land! As for your escape artist, do you know where she's getting out? I don't know if this would work or not, but maybe if you put a green garden hose in that space (not rolled up, but somewhat extended so it looks snake-like) it might keep her away from it. Way back in the Jurassic when I worked as a florist, we had doves we rented for weddings (gah, what stupid critters doves are). Anyway, they'd freak anytime anything long and green came up by their cage. If it was slightly flexible, they really went nuts. (I know you're wondering just how I know this... well I *had* to experiment so I could figure out what was setting them off and then what to keep away from the cage. Then, of course, we had to test it over time. Just in case there was something else going on. that we couldn't control for. ;-)

And your experiment with doves sounds like our experiment to see how a chicken goes down a slide...backwards, for the most part.

Did you know that the endangered Houston Toad doesn't like saltine crackers? (I suspect that's at least part of the reason they're endangered. :-)

We had a retriever who liked to play with toads. She'd find them in her water bowl and pick them up. She'd carry them around in her mouth until she started foaming. Then she'd spit them out and try to wipe out the taste.

Stupid dog would do the whole thing over again in a hour. :-)