If the weather holds the fellas and I plan to deploy a replacement deer stand today to replace the oldest of the factory-built steel tower stands dating-back to the early years. If all goes according to plan I'll post photos and the backstory when I have time.
Meanwhile, there have been some other fellas showing-up on the trail cameras from time to time; those with the velvet antlers.....
Right up there with raccoons whitetail deer are among the most frequently photographed animal by our network of six trail cameras.
Within that category are girl deer; does.
Nevertheless, there are a bucks too.
And with the onset of summer they've shed their gray winter coat to show-off the ruddy red coat of summer for a few precious months.
And they're growing their 2026 set of antlers. The velvet covering the growing antlers is a delicate membrane packed with blood vessels that deliver oxygen, nutrients and minerals such as calcium and phosphorus to the primarily bone antlers allowing them to develop at an astonishing rate. The velvet supports one of the fastest-growing bones in the animal kingdom.
Around here the process begins in April and continues throughout the summer. Then, by late August or early September the adult bucks begin shedding the velvet revealing the bony antlers. Antlers are shed the following late winter - early spring and the process begins again.
In case you missed it, only four of the 10 largest companies in America were on the list ten years ago: Apple, Microsoft, Berkshire Hathaway and JP Morgan Chase.
Technology companies - like the Magnificent Seven - are so ubiquitous some days they seems like they'll be around forever. Nevertheless, change is like trying to sip from a fire hose. It can change in a giant gush.
Fun Fact: In 2015 the total market capitalization of the top ten was $3.2 trillion. By the close of 2025 it was a staggering $19.4 trillion.
Funny how things change over time. You snooze; you miss something.
Sometimes you cannot celebrate anniversaries enough. Wedding, first buck, deer camp and more. The post card above arrived in the mail the other day reminding me that this is the seventh anniversary of the deployment of a Snapshot Wisconsin DNR trail camera on our property on October 20, 2018.
The Snapshot program utilizes volunteers to help identify and count the animals recorded on these trail cameras. Crowdsourcing the data of where and when each photo was taken will hopefully lend further understanding of wildlife population distributions across Wisconsin and how these distributions change over time. Snapshot Wisconsin is a consistent mechanism to monitor all types of wildlife throughout the year. The most frequently photographed animal happens to be Odocoileus virginianus, the whitetail deer. Same here. The top four animals captured here are as follows (in rank order) - Deer, Turkey, Cottontail and Racoon
Funded primarily through Pittman-Robertson dollars provided by the Federal government to Wisconsin DNR. Other funding is provided by a grant from the NASA Applied Science Program through the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Other partners include UW-Extension, Adler Planetarium, Zooniverse, Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers and the Wisconsin Environmental Education Board.
Having commenced year number eight this last autumn I deployed the third camera having lost the previous two to critter damage and a technology failure. With five additional cameras deployed on the property this is nothing new.
Anyway, to celebrate the occasion I thought I'd share a handful of some of my favorite photos captured from the same location.
Fun Fact: In July of last year the Snapshot program celebrated their 100 millionth photo. The photo featured for Door County was taken by the camera we host.
By the time you read this post we'll be afield and attempting to fill some deer tags. Here are some additional digital images of the local boy whitetails...
Since Wisconsin's annual gun deer season is nigh-upon us it seems fitting to post some images of the local boys...
From the trail camera trap line is a virtual menagerie of critters. Including....
A bobcat
A squirrel and a blue jay gathering acorns
A skinny red fox
A skunk in the daylight
Mama deer and her triplets
Our resident bearded hen (and brood)
And a buckaroo
Same location, almost the same time, two different deer...
Antlers are unique among mammalian structures because they are the fastest-growing bone in the animal kingdom. While growing, they’re covered in a fuzzy skin called velvet, which contains blood vessels, nerves, and nutrients that fuel rapid growth.
Scientists study velvet antlers because they are a rare example of a mammal regenerating a large, complex organ each year—making them a model for regenerative medicine and bone growth research.
From the trail camera trap line there are velvet bucks....
The number one animal appearing in the digital captures of Snapshot Wisconsin trail cameras is Odocoileus virginianus, the whitetail deer.
Same here.
Fun Fact: The top four animals captured here are as follows (in rank order) - Deer, Turkey, Cottontail and Racoon.
From the trail camera trap line there is a curious doe, bearded hen, a ghostly whitetail, velvet buck and a couple of fawns.
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