Well, since the last time I posted, I mostly gave up on the Spring box/pump problems for the time being… but that’s because it has been raining almost every day since then. It is very unusual for rains to come this late in the Spring here, but I’m not complaining! Meanwhile, I extended the hose carrying water down from the Spring box, bypassing the plastic reservoir tank, so the hose reaches the low point in the driveway. That way I can fill up my water containers at the road and not have to carry them up from the stream at the bottom of the ravine. That will make watering the garden a bit easier until I either fix the spring pump and pipes or find another solution.
Meanwhile, a few days ago I saw what I am pretty sure was a Gray Fox on the driveway just below the construction trailer and the hidden passage. This picture is one I downloaded from the Web, since I didn’t have my camera with me, but it is a good match for the little fellow I saw. I went back with my camera and saw him again, but he was gone in a flash, before I could take a picture, and I haven’t seen him since.
Back at the cabin, most of the birds have stopped visiting my bird feeders, but I tried a new mixture in my Hummingbird feeder yesterday and they have been buzzing my back deck all day long! At least two of them have been staging dog fights over the feeder, seemingly fighting for territory. But one of them (shown here) is female and the other one seems to be a young male, possibly her offspring or mate, so I am not sure what’s going on. You can see the little male on my Flickr site.
Meanwhile, the wild strawberries and blackberries are starting to bear fruit, poison oak is leafing out everywhere, ticks and mosquitoes are becoming a real nuisance, and I found this unusual plant out in the woods the other day. I believe this is a parasitic plant — one without its own chlorophyl — but a plant nonetheless. It just lives off other plants, somewhat like a fungi, but from living plants instead of decaying plant matter. This one is probably called “Broom Rape” or “Ground Cone” but I am not totally sure. I thought it was very pretty and quite unusual, although I have since found at least one other parasitic plant in the woods.
I continue to work on expanding the garden, repairs around the cabin, and my job search, when I can motivate myself. I am definitely not starving yet and I am enjoying it here — the woods are more beautiful than ever — but it sure would be nice to have a regular income. Something will turn up. 
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