Rose Cottage Ltd

I was taking a stroll around the lake early this morning. It’s so nice in North Carolina this time of year – not too hot, not too cold and today, no 20+mph wind like we’ve had lately.

I first spotted several pair of Wood Ducks.

There had been some dozen wood ducks hanging around this corner of the lake when I first ventured out. They are a bit skittish though so I figured they had taken off when they saw the “paparazzi” approaching yet again.

However, as I got closer to that edge, I noticed this…

Say what you want, but ducks are apparently NOT stupid!

They took one look at this Northern Water snake – pretending to be a stick, and said, “See you!” Pun intended!

There is one particular reader of this blog who will NOT be happy to see this post, but I wouldn’t be honest about the pros and cons of country living if I didn’t share all the details.

The good news about this snake is that it is not poisonous and never comes much further than in this photo – out of the water. The other fact is that until that rip-rap, (aka big, heavy rocks!) you see at the water’s edge, was added, I never saw one of these snakes. They like to lay on the rip-rap once it’s warmed by the sun so we’ve inadvertently provided them a summer resort – of sorts. Weighing the benefits of retaining the lake edge versus the occasional non-poisonous snake, the rip-rap was still a good and necessary idea.

The bad news is that this snake looks rather fat to me. Hopefully it is not a “she” and in nesting mode.

“Film at eleven” on that I guess….

I’ve already taken a little mini-break vacation this year. There is just too much to do at Rose Cottage during the traditional April through September travel season for me to plan a long vacation.

But with daily news about airport “scans” and the constant addition of fees to airline baggage and air travel, if I were planning a trip, it would be somewhere in the United States. As arduous as a road trip can be, it can often be the one most remembered. Gas prices won’t help, but a carefully organized trip can still be successfully planned and accomplished.

Anyone who has ever become lost – particularly on back-country roads, will tell you that maps can suddenly become very valuable – once you need them. GPS is great, but some of us still like to have those paper maps available in the glove box.

It’s a good time to be purchasing maps for 2012 and Maps.com has some specials you might be interested in reviewing:

+ Travel Guides for ALL 50 states can be found only at Maps.com

+ Free Shipping on all orders of $100 or more! No code needed. Expires SOON.

+ TODAY ONLY!! 20% off all orders at Maps.com. Use code JUNE30 at checkout.

More about Arbor Day and some great specials from The Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree Nursery!

Find out which tree is America’s favorite!

No time like the present to start getting some great gift ideas for Mother’s Day. Here are a few unique products from Shop Irish – one of my favorite online retailers…

Here’s a gift my Mother could have probably used – when six kids were all at home and under the age of 10! If someone had thought of a worry stone for her, she would have probably ordered one in a large, economy size!

This Connemara Marble Worry Stone will let you rub away your worries with this stone of genuine green Connemara marble. Just the right size for pocket or purse.

Made in Ireland.

Here’s a nice gift for Mom – you’ll need to order NOW though to get this personalized and shipped in time for Mother’s Day.

This Personalized Framed “Our Family” Print was written by Gena P. Bettis of Davidson, North Carolina, and was originally offered as a cross stitch design.

Personalization of your family name (up to 15 characters including punctuation if desired) is hand lettered by the artist and creates a lasting family treasure.

Size: 12 x 12 x 1

Allow 2-3 weeks (Just FYI: I’d contact Shop Irish for details if you want this for a May 13th delivery.)

How about this beautiful Irish cookbook for your Mom on Mother’s Day? Even though “we” might not still live there, Mom has to eat too!

The Award Winning The Country Cooking of Ireland recently won the James Beard Award for BEST COOKBOOK OF THE YEAR!

Ireland: its superlative raw materials, its satisfying traditional home cooking, and imaginative chefs, is simply one of the most exciting food stories in the world today.

More than 225 recipes and 100 photos covering everything associated with Irish cuisine including brown breads, tarts, Irish stew, Boxty, Colcannon, etc.

Hardcover, 383 pgs.

Hundreds of other gift items available…and, coming from a long-term customer – you can trust ShopIrish.com with your order. My sister LOVED her St. Patrick’s Day garden leprechaun!

I normally try to let the wildlife that exists on my property do its own thing. Other than chasing squirrels out of my bird feeders, I figure Mother Nature knows best. But there is one instance where I do interfere – when it comes to the showdown between goslings and the (at least) one monster snapping turtle I have in my lake.

Here are the potential victims:

And here is the aggressor:

Two turtles were captured, moved, and released in 2010. No sightings were made in 2011, but I saw one floating on top of the water in the sun about a month ago – right off the shoreline from a goose nest. If I can humanely catch it and remove it – off it will go. These turtles have an amazing life span, and the ability to survive in a hostile world that one still has to admire. I’m guessing the weight of the individuals already removed from the lake at somewhere around 60 pounds – each.

However, there is a huge state lake nearby that should provide them plenty of better feeding opportunities than to feast on the little goslings. One goose soul of the initial 2012 six goslings has already gone missing and their lives are filled with enough natural and human predators already. Wish me, and the goslings luck. I’ve had the trap in the lake for over a week and so far, have not lured the turtle inside the trap. Every time I see the 2012 goose family head down to the deeper end of the lake, I cringe.

More on my turtle-trapping episode of 2010 in my post entitled, “Monster Turtles.” The 2010 turtles, which were moved to a huge lake about 15 miles from here, had been caught – using a chicken thigh as bait, in the turtle trap. You can find info on where I bought the trap and a picture of it out of the water here.

Living with a 4-acre lake right in the middle of your 7-acre property provides a scenic setting and a lot of fun times. But when it comes to gardening and caring for the lawn and plants, it does require additional considerations.

My motto here is that anything I put around the lake, regarding weed and pest control, may end up in the lake. In many cases, chemicals many use without thinking too much about it, could be washed into the lake by a heavy rain and ruin its somewhat fragile ecosystem. I found this out the hard way 4 or 5 years ago when fertilizer my neighbor applied to his pasture, drained through a duct leading to the lake, and cost me 7 dozen fish. I don’t want this “fishkill” event to ever happen again. The drain has since been removed so it’s up to me to control chemicals.

Here are a few organic or at least “eco-friendly” options…

Check out the full range of this Urban Soil Energy product line.

Organic Plant Health products developed by PBS Organic Garden Expert Billy Styles include Organic Plant Health fertilizers, soil conditioners and pest control products simply work better, and are more complete than other products on the market. In fact, using Organic Plant Health brand products can actually save you money by helping to reduce the need for extra watering by as much as 75% or more.

Espoma Natural Lawn Food helps prevent unsightly weeds from popping up in your lawn while it nourishes the grass so that it becomes more resistant to heat, drought and other stress. Because the products consist of 100% organic ingredients, they are safe for your family, your pets, and the environment.

All natural and organic ingredients contain long-lasting, slow release nutrients that won’t burn; Homogenous granules for easy to use; uniform feeding Fortified with Bio-tone(R) – a special blend of beneficial microbes that help promote faster greening, deeper roots, and better soil structure.

Use: All Seasons – any time of year.

And perhaps my best find ever…Diatomaceous Earth

Safe & effective.

Made from the finely ground fossils of prehistoric fresh water diatoms. Diatomaceous Earth (D.E.) kills common household and garden pests like roaches, ants, fleas, beetles, bed bugs and many others. It is a long lasting control — sprinkles easily into cracks and crevices where bugs hide and wipes them out!

Apply the dust lightly in infested areas. Safe For use in Pantry and around food use-areas indoors or out! Odorless and does not stain. Stays effective as long as it stays dry.

Controls spider centipedes, millipedes, other crawling insects. Use indoors and outdoors for ants, fleas, cockroaches, crickets, earwigs. In home, controls carpet beetles, bedbugs and silverfish. To control fleas. Lightly apply D.E. dust on pet bedding, carpets and furniture when a flea problem surfaces. You can even sprinkle this on pets instead of nasty,chemical flea powders!

Find these products along with products for water conservation, solar lights, and hundreds of other eco-friendly products at Garden.com.

Not a great photo – pouring rain outside and a bit of window glare, but I think the caption of this image should be…

“Go Back In – It’s Still Raining!”

After a stormy night, all 6 goslings still present and accounted for this morning.

I almost hate to take pictures of these cute little goslings because I know many will not survive their first year. This Mother goose – who my Mom has named “Daisy,” had 4 goslings last year – only one survived to the 8-week stage. He’s still here this year on the lake.

Daisy and her spouse will do a lot of walking with their babies over the next few days, and then the family will “disappear” for several weeks. Hopefully when I see them again – most of the 6 will still be alive and well.

These geese, and the other wild animals protected and supported at Rose Cottage, are why I strongly oppose hydrofracking. Find out more about what it will potentially impact on this and surrounding rural properties…

I noticed that one of the lake’s two nesting geese seemed to be fidgeting on her nest this morning. She also didn’t take her evening fly-around and walkabout last night.

Now I know why…

There is at least one yellow gosling out of its egg and moving around you can just barely see. Since there were six eggs on this nest last time I got a quick look, this Mother Goose will be busy for the next few days – and no doubt doing a LOT more fidgeting!

After temperatures in the mid-80s yesterday, today’s overcast and breezy temps can’t seem to get beyond the 60s. I think this goose will be keeping her goslings “under wrap” as it were, until all are hatched and the temperatures get a bit warmer.

I’ll take some updated pictures as soon as the “Paparazzi” are allowed!