Sure Sign of Spring

One of the surest signs of spring is the reappearance of the little Red-bellied snakes (Storeria occipitomaculata). 

A small pencil-sized snake that emerges in late April.  This little fella was soaking-up the spring sunshine on the driveway.

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This species comes in a variety of colors - Black, gray and brown.  They typically have 2-4 thin stripes on their back.

Their young are born alive.  It's a helpful snake that eats bugs and slugs.  It's also small enough to be eaten by other critters.

The Prize

The girls and I were out a couple of days ago and cleaned-out 50 nest boxes.  We removed the old nesting material from the previous occupants making room for new tenants.  A couple of nest boxes were consigned to the scrap heap and a few more destined to the work bench for repairs.  This is another rite of spring - and just in time as virtually all of the birds have arrived.

Her Highness made the entire circuit with a prize she found in the woods.

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A deer leg.

Spring Has Arrived

Gorgeous night.

Full moon in the southeast is casting shadows it is so clear.

The peepers in the ponds are peeping.  There is also another frog.  The green frog croaking like a broken banjo string.

The woodcock are peenting and engaging in their sky dance.

38 degrees and a fire in the woodburner.

Should have elected third season turkey permit...

Mud Season

Mud season is upon us and after several weeks of precipitation - snow, ice, sleet and rain - there is standing water everywhere.

The ponds a full to the brim and the creek is surging.

Perfect conditions if you are a Labrador retriever.

Some shots taken this morning.

Blonde dog splashing her way through one of the many trail puddles...

And both girls tussling over a stick thrown into the creek...

 

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Posing for a Holy Card III

Three additional photos.  Three different locations.  All thoughtfully composed by the local deer herd...

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A Quintet of Deer

Is a quintet of deer a grammatically correct term?

All I know is that there are five of the tree munchers in the photo...

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The Flash - II

Lest you think all of these deer are just posing for a holy card - many of them are running for their lives.

Don't know why.

But they are...

Screwy Find In The Forest

My favorite tree species is the tamarack - Larix laricina. 

A member of the pine family it is the only conifer that sheds its needles in the fall.  This tree does well in swampy bogs as well as upland sites.  And as the most cold tolerant species it is one of the northernmost species of tree in North America.

Check this out...

A conjoined tamarack.  Two trees coiling together in a twisting fashion.

I've had my eye on this for several years and this specimen is getting taller by the year.  At some point I'll harvest it as a curiosity piece.  Although I haven't decided yet what I could do with it.

Any ideas?

Posing For A Holy Card - II

Some additional posing deer.

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Not too bad for a $90 trail camera, eh?

Paper Wasps

The name paper wasp typically refers to insects of the vespid family - Polistes.

During the spring several females work together to construct a hanging nest of wood pulp and saliva.  One female becomes the dominant queen.  The first few generations in summer are all female wasps cared-for as larvae by unmated female workers. 

Unfertilized eggs result in fertile males.  Only a mated young queen will overwinter to begin the process all over again the following year.  The old queen, workers and larvae die.

So far this winter I've come across two of their giant nests.

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Bigger than a basketball this nest is in great shape.  It hasn't been torn-apart by the wild turkeys foraging for meal.

Unlike aggressive yellow jacket hornets the paper wasp is actually rather tolerant of people.  Although they will defend their nest if they feel threatened.

I should return with a pole saw and fetch this nest.  It would make for a cool conversation piece.

Tree Muncher

Do you recall the photo I posted of the browsing of my valuable cedars?

Yup.

Squirrel Wars

When out working in the woods the other day I took the time to clean out any nest boxes I encountered.

The cavity nesting bird have returned - in fact I spied four bluebirds just the other day.  Time to clean-out last years nests in preparation for new renters.

Check this out...

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Squirrel damage.  Dang varmints.

Posing For a Holy Card - I

I've talked about this before and I've learned a couple of things about trail camera placement as a consequence.

• Find a well-traveled game trail.  Someplace that you're reasonably confident deer or other animals will frequent on a regular basis.

• Position your camera so that it faces either east or west.  This is so that you will catch the photogenic low sunlight conditions of early morning or late afternoon.

• Cross your fingers and hope for clear and cloudless conditions and cooperative critters. 

Here are some shots that the cheap, old trail camera took.

They're not half-bad.

More to follow...

The Flash - I

As a species Odocoileus virginianus has a distinctive alarm signal.

The flash of a white tail.  Of course they also have a snort.  And a routine of hoof-stomping.  And their distinctive wheeze.  There is even a bleat - sort of like a sheep.  Yet there is nothing more visual than the flash of the white tail after the observer/hunter has been busted.

Thus the whitetail deer.

I have no idea what startled the deer in these photographs - but they were clearly beating it out of Dodge.

I give you The Flash.

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More to follow...

Weirdly-Marked Deer

Speaking of deer with weird markings check this out...

Clearly not the deer with the skin disease but this one has a curious patch of white hide above the right shoulder.

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I've had deer around here with piebald traits over the years.  Never killed one but have seen them and gotten some pictures.

I suppose it's one of the offspring maybe?

Sick Deer?

Last week I posted a picture of a deer with what I figured was a skin disorder.  Here it is.

My pal Lawyer offered-up a possible diagnosis of fibromastosis.  So I passed along the picture of both the deer and Lawyer's suggestion to a deer biologist with the WDNR.

He replied:  It’s really hard to say anything is out of the normal on this deer in my opinion. At first glance, the dark patches on the coat just look like tufts of hair sticking up to me. Fibromastosis is an option, however. Hopefully a few more pictures will provide additional clues. Let me know if you get more pictures.

So here's another picture.

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I think it might be the same deer and other than the worsening of the skin disorder the animal looks perfectly healthy.  I sent the picture on to WDNR over the weekend.

I'll let you know what I find out.

Winter Deer

For Fools Day just some nice pictures of deer moving about in the falling snow.

No fooling.

Can you spot the deer bedded-down in the second photo?

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