The Speech

I watched the president this evening and have two immediate takeaways.  Inflation is the low-hanging fruit.

That was singularly the longest run-on sentence I've ever heard.  Great discipline on the teleprompter however.

Recent inflation is not the worst ever in history.  The president is either uninformed, confused or a liar; you pick. 

 

Wiley Coyote

From time to time I have discussed the interactions of red fox and coyotes if their territories overlap and share the same turf.  It's generally not collegial.

I cannot speak to the nature of their coexistence around here inasmuch as I have no evidence of it being good, bad or inconsequential.

Here are some coyote trail camera images and video retrieved from the most recent batch.  This afternoon I'll publish fox imagery taken from the same batch and same time span. 

 

 

Between you and me Old Wiley has probably robbed that loose cat around here of a couple of her lives....

Repurpose

If you are on the receiving end of several inches of overnight snow and have a leftover stale baguette laying around; here's a tip for a snow day breakfast.  

 

Cut your baguette in half inch slices and soak in a batter of two beaten eggs, a splash of milk, and a couple dashes of cinnamon and nutmeg.

 

Fry in butter to make miniature French toasts.

 

 

I like mine with a drizzle of maple syrup and it occurred to me I should have added a dash of vanilla extract.  A FB friend suggested almond extract.  

 

If I hadn't done this that baguette might have gone to the birds. 

 

Either way it was repurposed..... 

Crossing The Line

 

I 've been thinking about this off and on for a couple of days and initially concluded that drawing any further attention to this perversity was a waste of valuable bandwidth.  But after 24 hours of observing a (thankfully) small number of my MAGA acquaintances using Face Book to ghoulishly bask in the reflected glory of the murder of an Hollywood  liberal this is my conclusion. 

I take no issue with satire, sarcasm or general snarkiness; I use it myself.  Nevertheless, I was raised to not gloat about murder or another family's very personal tragedy.  It is inconsistent with expectations of a Christian. Trump's Tweet is not tone deaf; it is wrong.  And while I personally consider this over the line and unpresidential; I fully expect more of the same from Donald Trump.  

  

Red Fox

Over the years this critter would show-up on a trail camera image sporadically and without any pattern.  Then beginning with the spring of 2024 this species of canine began showing-up on the trail cameras quite regularly and never stopped.  What is unusual is that coyotes persist and both species typically do not occupy the same neighborhood.  As a consequence of competition for similar prey choices it is generally one or the other.  Rarely both.

The Red Fox is distinguished from the Gray Fox by a white-tipped tail visible in the photos.  They’re omnivores that dine-upon everything from rabbits, small rodents, roadkill, fruits and nuts and insects.  They sometimes make their home in an enlarged woodchuck den, or hollow log, or underneath a log or rock in a stream bank or side of a hill.  A mated pair will defend their turf from other foxes but this canine frequently is prey to the resident coyotes and wolves.   

A female is called a vixen, a male is called a dog fox, newborns are called pups, kits or cubs.  And a group of foxes is called a skulk.  

Recent video and a photo.  If you want to checkout the library use the Label tool on the left margin of the homepage and click of Red Fox. 

 

 

That dang cat running around here is gonna get tangled-up with Mr. Red Fox one day and I won't be seeing the Ditch Tiger mooning for a photo-op anymore.

You Know Who

The holiday spirit would be somewhat diminished without this smiling sprite.... 

Big Night Stalker

Taking the dog out for a bedtime potty call nowadays it is not unusual to hear the call of the call of the Great Horned Owl as dusk has settled upon the forest.  The horned owl is common around here and it is quite distinctive.  

This is one of the earliest nesting birds in Wisconsin; laying eggs in January and February.  Mated pairs raise one brood per year in an abandoned cavity nest, nest of a great blue heron or crow or even in the stump end of a large broken branch.

The horned owl is particularly gutsy being one of the few birds of prey that will take porcupines and skunks.  Plucky bird the horned own is - which is why it is sometimes called the Flying Tiger.  This bird of prey sports silent wing feathers, hearing so acute it can hear a rodent beneath the snow, bright yellow eyes and cannot turn it's head completely around.  Notably, it has a wingspan of up to four feet.  Why is that important?  This trail is groomed with a Rhino Bush Hog and a five foot wide cutting deck - at ground level.  Tree branches make the actual trail a bit narrower.

Helping to identify the fleeting appearance and disappearance of this night stalker.

There and gone again; in a ghostly flash.....