End of February

Cold! 2 degrees..and the weatherman is promising more "Plowable snow" later in the week.
This extended cold may be just what we need to kill off the ticks in the woods.  In the meantime, a nice pot of tea by the wood stove is in order! (I just read..the COLD doesn't kill off the ticks!. Oh well. )

Teapot collection at the Salem Cross Inn

No School Today

I ordered a replacement Bushnell Trophy Cam 8 mp trail camera ..a Valentine's gift from Himself.. Bought this one on eBay and should be arrive  in a week or so…Time to dust off the snow shoes!!!   I'll be ordering a cable lock, this time around. 

Walk in The February Woods

The deer began to move
After the Storm..

After the Ice Storm

Deer Tracks: Looking for food….

My Trail Camera has Gone Missing

With a break in the weather I hiked up into the woods to check the trail camera, change the batteries, and change out the image Card.  With the deep snow, ice, and deer hunters, December 18th was the last time I could safely hike into that area of the woods.  January 12th brought rain and a thaw.  The deep snow had melted, and I was anticipating a nice set of wildlife images. Was Coyote still tracking the deer?  Had Fishercat harried the squirrels?
When I arrived at The Grove

The  Camera was GONE!!!!

All of us had gotten used to seeing the  little black Bushnell camera attached trustingly to the tree in the south-west corner of the Grove.
The bears, the foxes, the coyotes..and the larger coyWolf..the deer…the fawns, does and the five bucks…all had become accustomed to the camera, where it has hung for the past 2 years.

Now it's gone.

When I return from vacation I shall order a new Bushnell camera, along with a strong locking cable.

Yes, as the days go by, I still feel a bit sad. Having the camera in the woods always gave this "Grandmother" the motivation to get up off the couch and hike in the woods.

Blue Jay and Woodpecker Tag

Woodpecker would pick up a sunflower seed from the Feeder. Blue Jay, not happy with just keeping Woodpecker away from the feeder,  chased the  Red Head up  into the trees, among the branches,  forcing him to drop the seed…..

Ice skating on the pond

White Tailed Buck in Snow

Click THE LINK here to : Watch Him on You Tube:  CLICK HERE

Three Night Visitors

Seven Point Buck: Notice that he has only one tiny point over his right eye..none on the left:
   Link Here: Watch him on YouTube

Eight Point Buck:  Link Here: : Watch Him On Youtube!

Four Point Buck: Link Here:  Watch him on Youtube

November Colors

Milk Weed,  and Bittersweet

Bittersweet: A surprise, bright and  unexpected. We've never found bittersweet growing on this side of the lake in over 40 years; a volunteer, like the milkweed  found several years ago, growing in the strangest place, not once, but season after season.
Weeds in a garden,  jewels in the woods.

Eight Point Buck with short tine on left antler

This is the first 8 point buck which passed my trail camera. The tine on his left antler is shorter than the one on his right. The 2nd 8 point buck had more  symmetrical antlers. 

It's the time of year that a Buck visits the grove...He ate a few of the apples that I left under the tree….
Watch him on Youtube

Lovely Doe

This is the first day of Bow Hunting so I dug out an old Orange Hat.  The old apple tree provided a bag of Drops to leave for the deer and raccoon. There weren't any spider webs across across the trails as I walked,  so I knew there would be new images on the trail camera. Yes!  Night visitors: Two grey squirrels, one fox, two large Tom's and several deer. And this Lovely Doe.

Spike Horned Buck

A late night visit to The Grove...the first for this young buck....

Young Spike Horn Buck

Autumn! No bugs! Blue skies!

Fawn Comes out of Hiding

Three Racoons

The Fox Returns

Bob Cat September 2013

This is the first Bobcat I've seen on the trail camera.
Click HERE for a link to more information about the BobCat.

Two Boys and a Dog

S. & K. found my camera in the Woods.

Great Blue Heron

Using our raft to fish from...a beautiful bird....

Great Blue Heron 

Gray Fox

CoyDog, or Gray Fox?   The Gray Fox has shorter legs, a shorter muzzle and a pointy face...and is much smaller.  This was taken in the middle of the night, but the infrared camera didn't miss the tell-tale  black stripe down the length of his bushy tail...

I continue to be amazed by the variety of wild animals which travel through so close to our house.
Curiously,  since the first appearance of Bear Cub, CoyDog and Gray Fox, our Doe and Fawn have not passed this way.