Little One

Little one isn't so little anymore.

click on the fawn to enlarge

Putting-on some size but still sporting his spotted camouflage.

The Dandy Boys

There are some really nice-looking bucks making themselves known around here.

They're all still sporting velvet as their antlers are nearing the end of their growth stage.

As the daylight hours shorten and fall descends upon the land the testosterone levels of these boys will rise to prepare them for the rut.

 The breeding season.

These are some dandy-looking guys.

 

Gobbler Patrol

Turkeys are showing-up on the trail cameras.  Plenty of hens and some hens with their brood flocks.  And some gobblers moving in a bachelor group.

 click on birds to enlarge

I have a fall turkey hunting permit.

Eeek!

An icky caterpillar on the camera.  Blech!

click on image to enlarge

My guess is gypsy moth.

Hatching a Plot

During Schützenfest weekend the guys did trail and deer stand maintenance and worked on the wildlife food plots.

Several clover plots were over-seeded and fertilized and three other plots were disced, fertilized and seeded with rape, turnip and clover.

The rape and turnip will germinate quickly.  Because they are frost-tolerant they will provide forage for the fall and winter.  The clover will persist for several years as it's a perennial plant.  It's also real easy to maintain - mow it once a year and broadcast fertilizer over it.

Clover is terrific forage for browsing animals and attracts insects for the birds.

click on images to enlarge

All the critters like clover.  

Deer

Seeing a bunch of deer this year.  Both up-close and personal and captured electronically by the ever vigilant and ever patient trail cameras.

I might even be seeing more deer than ususal.

Or maybe it's because there are four cameras doing their job 24/7, 365 days a year.

click on the doe and fawn to enlarge

Schützenfest!

The Sixth Annual  Schützenfest (shooting festival) closed yesterday and was an exceedingly safe and fun time.

Some photos...

click on images to enlarge

 

Rick's Deer

My pal Rick was turkey hunting earlier this year and came across a brand-spanking, new-born, whitetail fawn.  He even video-taped his encounter.

Ever since then I've been posting periodic updates of the progress his baby is making to his facebood page.

As of last week she is about as big as my black Lab...

click on the girl fawn to enlarge

 

Mama And The Twins

In keeping with the family theme of this blog I bring your another picture of mama and the twins.

It's actually a really good representation of whitetail socialization.

click on image to enlarge

 

Schützenfest!

Sniff, sniff...

Do you smell what I smell?

The smell of spent powder, testosterone and barbecue in the air.

You know what that means.

Schützenfest!

An opportunity to ramp-up for the hunting season, demonstrate prowess with a firearm and revel in our manliness...

Triplets!

This is a first.

A threesome of fawns.  

click on image to enlarge

I wonder if it's a combination of a couple or more family groups.  But I'm more inclined to think it is triplets!

Excuse me while I retire to the garage to spoke a cigar with a couple fingers of Canadian whiskey...

An Honest Day's Work

Not the day job but the chores on the tree farm.  Work, work, work.

Last weekend I finally found the time - and the opportunity - to prep some wildlife food plots.  I've either been preoccupied with the vast garden and other chores.  Or waiting out the rain.

click on image to enlarge

Fifteen gallons of Glyphosate (generic version of RoundUp) on three locations that will be planted into a combination of rape, turnip and red clover.  The rape and turnips are brassicas that will provide forage into the fall and winter.  They grow fast and are cold-tolerant.  The clover is a perennial and will persist into the years to come.  

A low maintenance planting all you have to do is mow it and fertilize it once a year.  The flowers attract insects for the birds and all the critters like munching on fresh, sweet clover.

The weekend of Schützenfest is an opportunity to plant the plots...

Sandhill

Got this picture from the camera posted north of the big pond and the creek.

Grus canadensis - Sandhill crane.  

click on the crane to enlarge

A stately and lanky bird that is one of the tallest of birds in the world.

We've enjoyed a pair that raised a couple of little ones this year.  The newborns are called colts (because of their long legs).

At this point we're only seeing the two adults and one of youngsters in flight...

Coy

Moved a camera to another location.

A quarter mile west of the house on a trail that is much like a tunnel with tall trees and cool woods on either side.  

It's a nice place for the critters to sneak thru and already I've gotten pics of does, fawns and velvet bucks.  And raccoons moving thru on three consecutive nights.  (We'll see about that before too long).
 
I really, really hate to dip into the well of anthropomorphisms.

But check this out.  

A girl fawn being coy and shy while checking-out the camera...

By now you should know what identifying feature proves that this is a girl whitetails...

 click on image to enlarge

A Pause for the Ladies

No decent buck pics for this week.  Too fuzzy or blurred.  Although there are some big boys out there.

Here's a small collection of nicely done pictures of some of the local ladies.  All from the same location...

 click on images to enlarge

Shrunken Horse

I went to town the other day to fetch some sugar and vinegar from the grocery.  (I was pickling-up a storm).

And I chanced upon this odd sight.  A regular horse and rider preceded by this... 

 click on the tiny horse to enlarge

I had driven around this caravan and pull over to stop and take some pictures.  I asked the two ladies being pulled by the tiny horse what breed it was.

To Which they replied - No special breed.  Just a miniature horse.

They elaborated to tell me thay had two of them.  A match team.  Probably to pull a miniature plow or miniature circus wagon...

The Fawn Brigade

A series of photos showcasing some of the newbies hanging about here.

They're all shapes and sizes.

And plenty of them...

 click on images to enlarge

More Family Life

A wild turkey hen with her brood.

The yearling class of newborn wild turkeys are called poults.  These are about as big as chickens as near as I can tell...

Rash

I completed brushing and mowing the trails.  More than 3.5 miles of them.  And a couple of wildlife openings too.  One more to go.

I noticed  I had a dandy irritation on each leg afterwards.  It wasn't itchy or scratchy - just irritated. 

 

 click on the rash to enlarge

Probably caused by all the chaff kicked-up by the mower.  A combination of poison ivy, poison parsnip and other herbaceous crap.

Word to the wise - wear long pants when cutting trails...

Mama and the Twins

Big fawn crop this spring and summer.  Which is amazing considering the winter severity index only five months ago.

The cameras are picking-up singletons of various ages.  And this mom - along with her twins - periodically...

 click on the curious little buck to enlarge

Liatrus Redux

Cannot get enough of that Prairie Blazing Star. The Frau snapped this pic while out walking the dogs yesterday.  

Now you know why they call it the Queen of the Prairie...

 click on image to enlarge

 

Prairie Blazing Star

Liatris pycnostachya - Prairie Blazing Star.  

 click on image to enlarge

The stem is made of many tiny flower heads all crowded together.    Pycnostachya is Latin for crowded.

Butterflies are attracted to this plant.  And so are the deer.  

Walk

Now that the trails are beginning to be cleared it's much easier to go for a walk and stroll with the pooches.

You don't have to fight your way through brush and grass that is waist high in some places.

click on image to enlarge

Wild Bergamot

Monarda fistulosa - Wild Bergamot.  AKA Horsemint or Bee Balm.  

click on image to enlarge

A member of the mint family it is used in folk medicine as a tea.  A small citrus tree called Bergamot also has a similar odor and is used as a flavoring in Earl Grey tea. 

Mr. Buck

Remember what I told you about the single moms?  And their fawns?  With no dad in the picture?

The dads are still around and hanging out together in their bachelor groups.  There's not contributing at all to the raising of the family and it's about to start all over again in about three months.

Some pictures of the boys...

 click on images to enlarge

Hairy Beardtongue

Penstemon hirsutus - Hairy Beardtongue or Foxglove.  What a totally cool name.

click on image to enlarge

This species can be either lavender, pink or violet.  

It is absolutely everywhere following the spring burn. And the bees love it....

Trail Maintenance

You may already have noticed that the wildlife pictures are of much better quality.  Clearer without all sorts of clutter.

That's because I've been out the last weekend clearing the trails of all of the tall grass.

Cutting the grass, weeds and willow with a Rhino Bush Hog.  All three and a half miles of trails.

 click on images to enlarge

Hot and dirty work but it will be so much easier to get around once this is finished.

Trail Maintenance

You may already have noticed that the wildlife pictures are of much better quality.  Clearer without all sorts of clutter.

That's because I've been out the last weekend clearing the trails of all of the tall grass.

Cutting the grass, weeds and willow with a Rhino Bush Hog.  All three and a half miles of trails.

 click on images to enlarge

Hot and dirty work but it will be so much easier to get around once this is finished.

Deer Famlies

A deer family consists of a mama deer (a doe) and one of more children (fawns). There is no dad in the picture so these are all single moms.  This is because deer are naturally promiscuous.  It's part of their genetic make-up so forget all of that nonsense about Bambi that Disney productions used to pollute your brain.

A couple of trail camera pics take at two different locations...

 click on images to enlarge