Debbie and Ronnie are beginning to come back to the barn more often, mostly for the nice, cool water from the hose. On some occasions, they would like a shower as well. The caregiver can produce a lovely spray for the ladies by pressing a thumb over the hose. Debbie and Ronnie will stand patiently, enjoying the the water washing over them. Deb is not above opening her mouth wide so she can be sprayed full in the mouth showing us her great big molars!
Minnie and Lottie do not come back to the barn nearly as often lately; they have their pond for enjoying a nice "cooling off" swim. Their pond is conveniently located near one of the Ele-Cam cameras, so they are the two Girls seen most often these days. Deb and Ron seek the cooler shade of the trees, which mostly hides them from the Ele-Cam.
Minnie
As the temperatures remain steadily high, the Girls have adjusted their routines. Dulary and Misty went from swimming once or twice a day, to several times each day. Their routine usually includes eating, swimming, dusting, napping and then a repeat of the same — over and over. During the evening is when they choose to wander about. With cool temperatures and no bugs, they can freely venture down lake road, grazing heartily on the young grasses and saplings that line the road.
Sis and Winks, who had been walking down North Road, stopping at different spots here and there, have returned to the vicinity of their favorite pond. They can enjoy comfortable lazy afternoons with all of their favorite comforts: the pond, the various grasses, and the woods. Sometimes, the Girls venture out at night and can be found basking in the glow of the moonlight that fills Dr. Scott's pasture. The moon reflects off the pond, and gives Sis and Winks a very white appearance in that soft light.
While everyone seemed to be going towards cooler spots recently, Shirley and Tarra picked a moderately temperate day to wander into one of the hottest spots on the property—the "blackberry gauntlet." There are times we understand the visit to the gauntlet—when the Girls become spotted with purple blotches and we know the blackberries are ripe. This recent visit (too early for blackberries) seemed a little more curious to us—until we also ventured down the road. The "gauntlet," which usually becomes a trail of dirt from frequent use, has been untouched for months. The entire path has now become a trail of green with sprouts of fresh young grasses everywhere. Shirley and Tarra spent one full day and evening grazing on the new growth and napping under the pine trees that are a perfect height for them—just above their heads. At this height, the trees provide shade without trapping the heat. The next day, the two Girls were back into the densely shaded woods where the temperature drops about ten degrees and beds of leaves await their nap time.
It was an uneventful week in Africa as Tange and Flora hung out at their "favorite" spot of the week known as The Pipeline. This is an area where part of their pine forest meets the clearing of the natural gas pipeline, aside from a lot of shade and little grass there isn’t much that this little spot offers. Once again proving that we have a long way to go before we fully understand the reasons for their ways, so we’ll take a step back to watch with open minds and learn…then scratch our heads with greater bewilderment, then learn some more.