In previous years we would avoid going to the refuge in May because it was so unbearably hot. This year however we had a lot of rain. Not just light summer showers but solid rain with thunder and lightning!
Ollie enjoys playing in the rain
Ollie playing with his soft frisbee. It’s easy to throw and easy for him to catch!
When the sun came out again, Ollie surprised me by going into the pool by himself! This was the first time he did this.
Our interesting birds this month were:
Plain Bush Hen – it was hanging around while Tonji was flattening the path beside the water lily pond
Rhabdornis – it was perched on the tall (non-native) tree near the camping area. We don’t see them that often.
Red Junglefowl – we finally photographed one at the refuge! Unfortunately it was with our iPhones. But still!
Can you spot the female Red Junglefowl on the left side of the path???
Philippine Nightjar – I forgot to write that in March we saw Philippine Nightjars flying around the pool and taking sips of water!
April was hot and I only got to do one quick visit to the refuge. I was able to see the Philippine Teak and Balai Lamok flowering! The water levels of the ponds were extremely low. I wanted to save the water lilies but I also felt a little conflicted about adding water to the water lily pond from the deep well. Was I wasting water? It would have been ideal if the pond water could last the whole year round. However, we decided to just go ahead and add water to the pond before completely dried up.
this is the small water lily pond
I think it was a good decision to add water to the pond. The water was very low and very warm but also very clear! I had never seen the water that clear before. There was so much life at the pond. There were tadpoles swimming and dragonflies flitting about. Usually we just see the red dragonflies. This time there was also a big blue one and small ones with other colors!
There was still enough water in the big water lily pond. We didn’t need to add water to it. The plants I was most worried about saving are the peach colored Colorado water lilies. They are in the deepest part of the pond. Tonji thinks the water in that section of the pond will last until rainy season.
the Colorado water lilies at the big pond
there are also dragonflies here!
I am quite happy with our experiment in planting water plants in these two ponds. I did not plant anything in the other ponds, mainly because I didn’t know anything about water plants back then. I think the water plants and guppies brought in more living things to the ponds. The water looks alive, not like a stagnant pool of water. I also think the water plants help to keep the water from evaporating too quickly.
In April, we also had more doggie health woes. Lulu and Ollie got kennel cough and Momo got very sick. I thought Momo was going to die! Thank goodness he pulled through.
Barkley passed away in March. He had a heart problem. In a matter of days, he became very weak and was laboring to breathe. It broke our hearts to say goodbye to him. It was strange and painful to go to the refuge without him. One of the reasons we bought the property in the first place was so that Barkley and Momo could have space to run around. We joked that we bought our dogs a farm and that we should call it “Barkley and Momo’s Farm”. I’m glad Barkley was able to enjoy his farm. He loved to go in the pool and the ponds. He was so confident and independent that he would sometimes just run back to the cottage by himself in the middle of a walk. He was so good at communicating what he wanted that he got to do things like ride with Tonji in the tractor while he was cutting the grass, sleeping on our bed even if he wasn’t that clean because had been running around in the fields, and riding on his blue boat while being pushed up and down the entire length of the pool.
The dry season officially started in March. It is very hot and sunny. The grass isn’t green any more and there is a lot of amor seco. Our water lily ponds are slowly drying up. I want to add water to the ponds and save the water lilies! There are so many of them and it would be so sad to lose them all.
the baby water lily already has a flower even while still connected to the parent leaf!the smaller pond is losing a lot of waterthe big pond has also lost a lot of water
Tonji saw a pair of Greater Painted Snipes near the big pond with the water lilies! That brings our farm bird list to #104! So cool that we have seen and identified 104 bird species at our place! He sad they were in the shrubs on the left side of the pond. Unfortunately, I wasn’t with him at the time and he wasn’t able to photograph them. I looked for them, but no luck. Hopefully, I will see them some time in the future.
This is one of my favorite videos of Barkley. Of course it was taken at the refuge, our happy place. This shows the kinds of shenanigans we shared!
We are still enjoying the cool weather! February is a great month to visit the refuge. It is cold, windy, and a bit drizzly. It is so windy that things get blown off the table and hats get blown off your head!
Malabulak!
Momo is recovering from surgery on his perineal hernia. I am so glad I have option of letting Momo ride the Burley Bark Ranger! It’s spacious enough to fit Momo, Barkley, and my birding camera!
Barkley is happy to have Momo with him inside the trailer!my camera is under the towelso happy!
Tonji did some work on the new pond. Here he is explaining his vision for this site and how we will get from field of grass and weeds to a new pond.
It is a lot of work! One scoop at a time.
Aside from working on the pond, Tonji also maintains the trails with the tractor. The dogs are good at not getting in his way.
note the line of Malabulak trees!good dogs!!
Here is a new to me weed that I will add the the weeds gallery. I enjoy learning about weeds by drawing them. Trying to draw a plant makes you look at it very closely and for a long time!
Tonji and Sylvia's Wildlife Refuge 