Nice Rack

I moved the trail cameras to a couple of new locations last Friday.  With the dearth of deer lately I figured what the heck.

Time to change it up.

Back home I uploaded the contents of the memory cards and lo and behold...

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Where'd the Deer Go?

For awhile it was not unusual to capture a hundred or more pictures of deer on the trail cameras.  Sure, many were multiple shots of the same deer.  Lately it's only a dozen to a couple of dozen shots.  And no boy deer.  Just does and fawns.

I wonder where all the deer went?  Hunkered-down due to the heat maybe?



One blonde lab too.

Another Wildflower

Prairie blazing star - Liatris pycnostachya.  A native plant found in Wisconsin's prairies it is favored by nectar seeking insects and delectable to the local deer.

Even though it appears to be a single flower there are many little flowers that can be found on the stalk.  Pycnostachya is latin for crowded.  In the picture below you can see it is just starting to bloom...

Still Seeing Fawns

No twins this year.  At least any that I've gotten a picture of.  Nevertheless, it is encouraging to know that another generation of deer is in the woods.  Since does and fawns do not range very far I'd beet that this scene is being repeated in various wood lots all across southern Door County.

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Note to self - move your trail cameras to alternate locations and see who else is out there.

The Dog Days

The dog days - diēs caniculārēs - reference the hottest days of summer which are July and August.

This has its roots in the belief that Sirius - also known as the Dog Star - was responsible for the hot weather due to its proximity to the sun.

Best to get that walk out of the way in the early morning before breakfast.

Sister, Gilligan and Girlfriend...

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Delicious Wildflower

If you like Earl Grey tea you should be familiar with this wildflower.

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Bergamot - Monarda fistulosa - also know as Bee balm or Horsemint.

A member of the mint family this wildflower has been used throughout history for its purported medicinal attributes.  The oil of this plant is incorporated as a flavoring agent in Earl Grey tea.

Enjoy!

Bird Food

While out bicycling last weekend I encountered this very healthy Kewaunee County field of sunflowers.  And it wasn't the only one.  There were many more - on both sides of the highway.

Northeast Wisconsin hasn't been nearly as impacted by the drought that has punished farmers almost everywhere else this growing season.  The corn is tall and looking fine and apparently there will be a bumper crop of oil sunflower seed as well.

That's going to be a boat-load of bird seed once it's harvested...