Trespassers

This image showed-up on one of my trail cameras and it bothered me slightly more than an image of a coyote showing-up at the same location.  That is because these are domestic dogs.  And an image of a domestic dog can mean one of two things:

1.  A trespasser walking their dogs on our property without advance permission, or;

2.  Domestic dogs running at large.

Neither of which is good for the safety of my dogs, the local wildlife and the general maintenance of neighborly relations.  I figured these are (intact) male Portuguese Water Dogs.  And I promptly forgot about their appearance.

That is, until I was running down the road on an errand recently and I spotted them lounging in the front yard of a house a couple of miles away.

Wonder what the backstory is.....?

Close Encounter?

I was out with the Labs last weekend to run the trail camera trap line and replace SD cards and check on batteries.  I went to fetch the camera furthest from the house and... IT WAS GONE!  

I thought to myself - Fine,  After all of these years some trespassing jerk swiped one of your cameras  You've been ripped-off.   A five year-old, $100 trail camera - if that's his haul he needs it worse than you.

Walking out to the main trail something caught my eye - something that didn't belong.  There it was - the camera.  

 click on images to enlarge

Hanging from a tree tube not 50 feet from the tree it had been strapped-to.

The face plate was wide open, the belt clipped-shut, the batteries dead and the SD card still there.  Strange.  Why someone would mess with the camera like this and not take it with them?  Did the perp have a short case of thievery remorse?

Swapping-out the batteries and replacing the SD card I relocated the cam to an alternate location.  Back at home I uploaded the pictures and found the first...

Among others...

And the last picture taken...

Nothing including any people or the actual moving of the camera.  My best guess is the aliens are back and they're messing with me again.

The Trouble With Deer

A week ago I was sitting at my desk at the day job when an email from The Frau showed-up.  Attached to it was a picture of a small deer in the yard adjacent to the driveway.  The message said that the deer scampered from the yard, across the the road  and into the ditch adjacent to the cornfield to the south.  No sign of mama.  Middle of the day.  Probably picking at the apples that fell from the tree or an opportunity to raid my garden.

Today I was busying myself in the kitchen making pickles when the dogs (previously lounging on the porch) broke into a cacophony of frenzied barking.

Looking out the window I spied a small, spotted, fawn on the driveway.  It skedaddled across the road and into the ditch adjacent to the cornfield to the south.  No sign of mama. Middle of the day.  Probably picking at the apples under the tree or looking for something to filch from the garden.

I texted The Frau and shared the story inquiring if it might be the same deer.  As it turns out it wasn't.  Both were smaller, but mine had spots, her deer did not.

That's bold.

Death Penalty

Beginning last year nocturnal visitations to my garden commenced.  This year they continue.  As evidence of these raids upon my fresh, organically-grown, yummy vegetables have been picked green beans, nibbled carrot tops and the strange disappearance of every last broccoli plant.  

There is irrefutable evidence that the perpetrator of the theft was accomplished by one or more children.  This is apparently a crime family.


This past week my beautiful romaine lettuce was browsed to a mere stump.

 click images to enlarge

Then there were the tender, leafy beet tops neatly nipped from the root vegetable.

The forensic proof of the culprit has been the foot hoof prints.

This is a crime that carries seriously grave consequences.

As the penalty is death...

Midnight Rambler

The deer have been visiting under cover of darkness.  How do I know this?  They are leaving tracks in my gardens.  Fresh tracks too.  And lots of them.

click to enlarge

Funny thing is that there's nothing in this garden for them to eat while the other larger garden still has come carrots, beets and overgrown broccoli.

Interlopers

Someone's been running their coon hounds again.

Trail camera caught a couple of trespassers from last week.

click on image to enlarge

Seriously, all you have to do is ask permission.

Visitors

When I first saw this picture on the SD card of the trail camera I thought - What the hey!  Some guy I don't know out for a stroll with his wife or girl friend.  The nerve!

click on the rubber boots to enlarge

Then it occurred to me.  Possibly DNR personnel checking the evidence of seriously-bad deer damage to the trees on the property?

Nope. 

Trespassers!

Trespassers

The Frau mentioned that she heard dogs barking and gunfire earlier today - and that it was very close.  Probably along the west property line.

I figured it was probably hound hunters running fox or coyotes or possibly rabbit hunters.

In any event the girls and I went out late this afternoon to set-up the replacement trail camera that Moultrie sent this week.  (As an aside I might mention I'm not very happy that they sent me a used, repaired camera.  But that's what I guess 'Manufacturer's Sole Discretion' means in the fine print of the warranty).  We'll have to see how it works out.  I'm hoping to catch a picture of what I suspect is a resident weasel.

Here's what we found in the snow...boot prints!

I suspect rabbit hunters weasels.  And I sure wish they'd ask first...

Trespassers

Caught one of these dogs on the trail camera last year.  Now it appears there are two of them someone is allowing to roam loose.

What to do?