Photo-a-Day Challenge
A Week of Worry
Seven days in September
Fall wildflowers are everywhere, enjoying the slightest cooling in temperatures. The flower above is a Maryland Meadowbeauty — one of my favorites.
Last week, I wrote about Syau being sick. She was doing much better on Sunday and Monday but took a sharp downward turn on Tuesday. She would spend Wednesday through Friday having IV treatments at the vet clinic. Captain Argentina and I missed her every moment of the day and were eager to pick her up each evening. At home, she was lethargic, refusing to eat, so unlike our little girl. We struggled to hold onto hope. After all, she is 13, although her breed often lives to 16 or above. But, after collecting her Friday evening, she asked for food. She ate three times (small amounts) before bed. Today, we have our little girl back! She’s almost normal. It was a hard week for all three of us.
We’ve seen more American white ibis this year than ever before. The ones above were at the manmade lake across the street from our circle.
Syau’s health began to worsen on Tuesday. We took one of our shorter walking routes through a neighborhood of single-family homes where, for the first time, I noticed this birdhouse. It’s obviously been there for a while, always ignored by me.
Wednesday was the first day Syau spent at the vet getting IV treatments for pancreatitis and gastroenteritis. I took a walk alone and came across this Little Blue Heron.
What I consider “our neighborhood” is a 2-mile long boulevard with a combination of single-family homes, condos, and townhomes. There are several manmade lakes and two natural ones — our lake, Unicorn, and the one above. If it has a name, I don’t know it. When we moved here in June 2017, that lake wasn’t much more than a small pond. Now it’s filled to the brim.
In the Thursday morning fog, Reina and six of her ducklings swam by but didn’t stop for breakfast.
Although the day started off foggy, it cleared before noon.
Friday morning, all 12 ducklings were at the shoreline. Reina was not in sight. Already on the shore eating breakfast were Lydia, Langston, and Pozo.
When the ducklings began to exit the lake, Lydia chased them back into the water, swimming from one to the other, aggressively pursuing and pecking them! The poor ducklings protectively tried to stay together while also trying to avoid her attacks. Captain Argentina and I screamed at Lydia but she continued racing after the ducklings. I’m worried they will never return to our shore. I was shocked by Lydia’s behavior. I’ve often seen more than one female Muscovy with a brood of babies, like loving aunties helping the mother to keep track of the young ones.
Hot days and cooler nights (by Florida standards) equal foggy mornings.
A week of worry has ended. Syau is almost her old self, and thanks to a relaxing massage from Captain Argentina, I slept very well last night for the first time since Monday. I’m ready to face a new week.
© Dennett 2021
A little more than a year ago, I started the Photo-a-Day Challenge to help combat the virus blues. I take photos every day and choose one (maybe, two) to represent the day. Then, add a one-or-two-word descriptor and maybe, some narrative. A simple way to observe and preserve.
Want to join the fun? It’s all about noticing and appreciating your environment and sharing it with us, as these photographers and story-tellers have:
Erika Burkhalter / Eileen Vorbach Collins / Anne Bonfert / Sasha Meyer / Tracy Aston/ Lisa Bolin / Juan O. Aguilera / David Wade Chambers / June Nguyen / Mia Verita / Susan Alison / LensAfield / Barbara Radisavljevic / Diana Lotti / Barbara Dalton / Kim Zuch / K. Barrett / Sandra Barrett / Shruthi Sundaram / Gustavo Mendez
(If you participated in the Photo-A-Day Challenge and your name isn’t listed above, please let me know.)
Please follow the Snapshot rules:
Lead with a photo/title and subtitle follow No more than 10 photos per post No more than 750 words per post Yes, we know that the photos are yours but you still have to state that they’re your work
And, have fun!