Auf Wiedersehen Mein Freund

Queenie, age 82, passed-away peacefully in the arms of her family September 1, 2022.

Preceded in death by her auntie - Inky - and feline family members Figaro and Bubba, she is survived by her people, Tom and Jill.

Born March 3, 2011, Queenie came to live with her people at six weeks of age and joined the flushing and retrieving team as back-up dog. She was a quick study and grew into a reliable partner along with Inky in the sport of pursuing upland game birds. Queenie traveled extensively; including pheasant hunting trips from Wisconsin to South Dakota and from Canada to the Gulf Coast on family vacations.

Outside of work Queenie enjoyed family life at the farm.  She knew that when the E-Collar came out there was a walk in the offing.  If the Browning 12 gauge materialized all hell would break loose.  In her spare time there were always baby bunnies to dine-upon, poo-rolling in the woods and porch-sitting with her people.  Wintertime and snow was her absolute favorite. Because this is what Queens do - she loved to be outdoors and surveil her domain. 

She embraced life, was on a first name basis with the UPS guy, a friend to most everyone she met, a canine good citizen and modeled the stoicism of a Labrador retriever. She was a clever dog with an incorrigible mischievous streak and an overall credit to her breed.

Blonde Dog will be sorely missed.

A celebration of her life will be held at a future date. Per her wishes adult beverages will be served.

Hunt ‘em up!

 

 

Reduce Reuse Recycle

Spizella passerina commonly known as chipping sparrow is among the most common sparrows in North America. They are summer visitors here and can range as far north as Alaska. They are both winter and year-round residents of Central America and the southern states.

Fairly tame, this bird takes its name from the sharp chip call it makes as it hops and runs on the ground foraging for seeds and insects.  It takes flight in short, rapid bursts. 

Field marks include a rusty crown and a dark eye line. 

The female constructs a cup nest low to the ground in dense shrubs and is usually lined with animal hair.  This bird fledges two broods per year.  Both male and female feed the young. 

After brushing Blonde Dog it is common to observe mama gathering dog hair for her nest. 

 

Reduce, reuse, recycle.

 

All Hail the Queen

I awoke Monday to snow.  Two inches to be exact - followed later in the evening by another two inches.

Welcome to false spring in northeast Wisconsin.

Monday also found us visiting the vet for a Labrador retriever that had the shits over the weekend.  Application of the universal bland diet (boiled rice and chicken) wasn't making a difference.  An exam along with lab work followed and we returned home with a broad-spectrum antibiotic and a probiotic to stabilize the dog's digestive tract.

She's better.

And something that hasn't changed throughout - she simply likes to lie in the snow.

Sie ist ein Schneehund....

It's That Time of Year Again

This showed-up on one of the trail cameras.

A boy deer with half of his headgear missing.

Which means it's time to let loose the hound and do some shed hunting.

Shed antlers that is.

Did you know that there is an entire vast organization dedicated to shed hunting?

Yup.  You can check them out at NASHC.

Blonde Dog

From our recent running of the trail camera trap line there were these photos of my faithful companion on our daily walk...

Snow Angels

On yesterday we woke to 4 - 6 inches of this on the ground.

So from our morning walk there was plenty of snow to romp-in.

In case you were previously unaware - Labrador Retrievers like to roll and make snow angels in the new fallen stuff.

Best to enjoy it while we did as a warming trend is going to make it go away..... 

Deer Camp Recap

Yesterday was a day of rest with everyone here at camp sleeping-in to 7 AM.  After a delightful breakfast of strong black coffee and Shit On A Biscuit...

We off-loaded seven whitetails from the meat pole and loaded-up the pick-up truck.  

Four deer to be processed into steaks, chops, burger and bagged scraps along with the three remaining deer donated to the Northeast Wisconsin Food Pantry Network.  

There is also the following;

Deer camp wine - courtesy of my neighbor and his wife who happen to be wine-making enthusiasts 

Deer camp bread - second loaf pictured after the hungry crew devoured the first loaf in one sitting

Deer camp homemade biscuits - the vessel for the creamed chipped beef (above)

Deer camp fish fry of wild-caught perch, walleye and crappies

Deer camp homemade clam chowder

Deer camp flag
 

Deer camp dog

And a deer camp sunset 

All in-all more fun than a barrel of monkeys.  We reconvene in December. 

Wiley Coyote

Each evening there is 'last call' before bedtime for blonde dog to piddle one last time.  This is usually accompanied by giving the evening air a good long sniff, raised hackles and barking at the the general darkness surrounding the house.

On our daily walk there is typically a lot of sniffing and peeing.  No barking - but plenty of scent-marking.

There are coyotes out there.  We don't see them in real time - yet they are there.

Our resident coyotes are pretty cagey and make every effort to avoid direct contact with people.  Nevertheless, they're out there and blonde dog makes a regular effort to keep her territory marked.  

Taken only a few days-apart at the same location there are these images from the DNR trail camera that we host.....

Dinner

Blonde Dog and I are living the bachelor life for a spell. 

Following a day of chores and rain there was this. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NY strip and garden sides. 

Swamp Gas rising too…..

 

 

 

Thunderboomer

Two years ago the kids were visiting for a spell and we had just sat down to one of my infamous Wisconsin yellow perch homemade fish-fry dinners.  Just as we were concluding the blessing over our food there was a sizzle, CRACKLE, KABOOM!

The power went off.  The alarm went off.  Then the power came on.  The Blonde dog was freaked-out.

Lightning strike it was - and it not only blew-out the mother boards for the HVAC and overhead garage door openers it also fried and destroyed the alarm system.

We never did locate precisely where it hit but as near as we can tell it was close enough for the charge to travel through the ground and enter the house by means of the buried power line with just enough force to damage direct-wired delicate circuitry and not enough to start a fire or damage the larger appliances sharing a power outlet.  None of the GFI circuits were tripped.

Alas, the dog was also a casualty and ever since gets nervous and stressed with thunder storms.  Even when if the thunderstorm is on a television movie - we have to mute the volume until it passes.

Adaptil Canine appeasing pheromone 2% spray helps somewhat but there's nothing better than 70 pounds of Labrador retriever on your lap to calm the dog..... 

 

Tag Team - Two

Yesterday I posted a couple of photos of a duo of coyotes on the hunt.

Today there is this short, silent video vignette. Same date, different location and slightly different time.

You have to be quick to notice the hind quarter of the lead coyote in the very opening frame - this was the animal that triggered the motion-activated camera.  It is the second animal that is worthy of observation.

 

She pauses to pee and then scratch to finish marking her territory before moving on.  This territorial marking is no different than that of our Labrador retriever.  Likely the same for your dog too.  The difference is that around here is is a constant battle to mark territory.  The coyotes pee and scratch, the Blonde Lab sniffs it out and then proceeds to mark it and scratch it herself.  The coyotes pee and repeat. The cycle does not end.

It's an on-going contest to determine who's Boss Dog of theses here parts......

Wile E. Coyote

Last Wednesday I was out with Blonde Dog for a walk and a circuit trail cameras to swap out the SD cards.  Unremarkably deer were the most prolific of critters photographed followed by raccoons.  The third most popular image collected was that of the largest resident predator around these parts.  Canis latrans - Wile E. Coyote. 

If you paid attention to the behavior of my faithful companion the casual observer would take note that she would periodically stop in her tracks to give a particular spot on the trail a long and thorough sniff.  With each pause the denouement would be to pee at each location before resuming our walk. 

There is no mistaking this scent marking behavior and the need for canids to lay claim to their territory.

Anyway here are some additional trail camera photos taken this month - both IR captured at night and a couple of daytime photos as well.  Three different locations.  I did not crop the date and time stamp as as to lend a sense to the movement patterns......

 

Close Call

Yesterday Blonde Dog and I ran the trail camera trap line.  We are happy to report that each of the six cameras captured multiple images of coyotes during all hours of the day.  Coyotes are cheap.

This is a first.

We didn't know it at the time - but it would appear we had a close call too.

From yesterday's walk there was this.....

Big Birds Are Annoyed

 From our walk today it was clear that Mr. and Mrs. Sandhill were none too happy about Blonde Dog encroaching-upon their territory.....

 

Born Under the Sign of Capricorn

Bock beer traces its origin to Northern Germany and the city of Einbeck - probably as far back as the 1400s. By the time the 1600s rolled-around popularity had spread and it was being brewed in the land of my birth - Southern Germany.  Einbeck was pronounced as “Einbock” in the Bavarian accent of the region – and “einbock” loosely translates to “billy goat” in German.

Coincidentally, bock beers are brewed under the sign of Capricorn (The Goat) and consumed during Lent and Easter. The monks of Bavaria brewed this beer to sustain them during their Lenten fasts (I am not making that up). 

Maibock, also known as Helles Bock, is associated with springtime and the month of May. It is lighter in color than traditional bocks but has a similar ABV. A little less malty than its darker cousin maibock has a drier and hoppier character. 

Bock beer has been brewed in Wisconsin for longer than 150 years and pictured is a paler Bock brewed from two row barley malt and European hops.  Sweet clover honey is added to the kettle mellowing the flavor notes like those of a Maibock. It's a seasonal brew meaning you have to enjoy it subject to shortened availability. 

It's a tropical 60 degrees on the south side of the porch so I'm savoring this adult beverage in the spring sunshine while the smoker out back is smoking dinner. 

Cabin Fever - New Glarus Brewing

6% ABV     

Prosit!

Spring is Sprung

It is officially spring here in the northern hemisphere meteorologically-speaking.   

Meteorological seasons are conveniently divided into tidy calendar months.  The seasons begin on the first day of the months that include the equinoxes and solstices:  Thusly, spring runs from March 1 to May 31; summer runs from June 1 to August 31; fall (autumn) runs from September 1 to November 30; and winter runs from December 1 to February 28 (February 29 in a leap year).   

The astronomical definition uses the dates of equinoxes and solstices to mark the beginning and end of the seasons:  Spring begins on the spring equinox; summer begins on the summer solstice; fall (autumn) begins on the fall equinox; and winter begins on the winter solstice. The beginning of each season marks the end of the last.   

Because the timings of the equinoxes and solstices change each year, the length of astronomical seasons within a year and between years also varies.       

If you want to keep it simple remember this and this alone:  The arrival of the male redwing blackbirds to stake out their breeding territories is a harbinger of spring and has always been my benchmark for the official start.    

If you have sporting dogs in your household this also marks the beginning of mud season.  It is time to hook-up the hoses and turn-on the water supply to the outdoor hose bibs.

Poetry in Motion

I dunno about you but I can never get enough of the fluid motion and athleticism of a Labrador retriever on a joyous romp in the snow.

Poetry in motion.