January 2016 on the Trail Cameras

 Coyotes have been howling in the woods this month. They are  the size of our neighbor's black Lab, "Ace," who I was happy to have walking in the woods with me today.

They have been "stalking" the deer for several days now.  Coyotes go after the smaller varmints; Could these be "coy-wolves" instead?

January: The Wolf Moon

The Setting of the Wolf Moon.
. West-Northwest at 7:30 am.
The morning sky,  pink.
Haze from a  wood stove drifts across the frozen Lake.

In January snow gathers deep in the woods and the howling of wolves can be heard echoing in the cold still air. 

Hanging Out

A 2 mile hike in the woods today.
Snow flurries.  Tracks to study: Coyote, Fox, Raccoon, Rabbit.
A giant hemlock fell across the Long Trail.  

The Day the Lake Iced Over

Wednesday, January 6th, 2016: The Lake is finally iced over.

The Trail Camera 2016

The sun was shining so even though the woods were a sheet of ice, I pulled on "ice walkers," grabbed a ski pole and hiked out to check a couple a trail cameras.  Good news!
The Blind in One Eye Doe evaded  hunters for another year! She was  very clever about hiding this years fawn,  deep in the woods.  Her 2013 fawn is the mother of the two young bucks in the bottom photo.  Wildlife Population as  revealed by the Cameras at the start of 2016:  1 old doe; 2 young does, 5 "yearlings, " two of which are male, one  young  buck;  Raccoon,  Gray Fox, several squirrels, BobCat,  and ONE large OWL. Also we have a pair of mature eagles and two "immature" eagles fishing in the Lake from time to time.

Grandmother

Grandsons: This pair of twins born June 2015  appear to be males, as there are "buttons" on their foreheads (visible elsewhere in the video that this clip was taken from.)  They "scrap" with one another a lot.