Doe, turkeys, Maggie

We're still not healthy. Hubby went back to the Dr. and we await the interpretation of the X-rays. It's either still a cold virus, or it's gone bacterial to pneumonia. I'm getting better, but still coughing. It's a rotten bug.

The weather is frosty, feet crunch on the frozen snow. The blue jays were screaming, I wondered if they'd found another owl. Guess not.

blue jays from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.


I've moved my trailcams. She seemed dubious!



Down beyond the frog pond, they wend their way along the trail.


Just before I went down to the trails, Maggie demanded some food. She is doing really well with her dislocated knee! She's had it since 2015. [Deer friends: Maggie]

Maggie from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

It looks like it is still rutting season, her ankle gland is still active.

More critters: junco, wild turkey, deer!

Happy Valentine's Day!

The junco is so sweet, sitting on the railing.


   The wild turkey is HUGE!

Some close-ups of the deer with the broken ankle. It seems to have




Next, the buck shows off his forehead, sans antlers! You can see how it has just grown over, and healed.

More Saturday's Critters

Remember the deer with the broken ankle?

She is still surviving. I cannot believe it. She is active, and running around the yard. She'll hop the fence, landing delicately. She is a bully when she finds her mouthful of food, defending as they do (0:18) be rearing up on their hind legs.

We have a couple of coyotes, and a Coywolf, and it's just amazing she is still, otherwise, healthy.


Deer broken ankle from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
This deer seems to be surviving the wolf and the coyote, as well as winter.

Photos... February 9th

 

January 14th

 

Broken-winged goose

Goose Dec. 25th

The goose with the broken wing in the Tay River is, apparently, still surviving, too. I contacted a few people about this goose, including the press, as did a couple of other people. My letter was printed. No one could help. They found out some more information. It was being fed my Mr. Wright, who lives on the river, they wrote. Another resident provided more information. She wrote a letter to the editor...

Important detail left from letter

An important detail was missing from my Jan. 29 letter 'Resilient goose seems stable in its environment'. Mr. Wright, whose property borders the water by the Rainbow Bridge, checks on the injured goose several times a day and puts out appropriate food for it to eat. Also, several caring Perth residents and neighbours have dropped off extra food to Mr. Wright for this purpose. I appreciate the opportunity to clarify this.

♪♫ Who is at my window, who?

Several deer. That is who. A whole herd, in fact. Males and females.

This is an anthem I used to sing at church. Welford Russell anthem, "Who Is at My Window, Who?" I love this one. Silly me, I will stand at the window and sing it, still. I gave up church for Advent awhile back. Just couldn't take it any more.

Who is at my window, who?
Go from my window, go.
Cry no more there like a stranger.
But in at my door thou go.

One with what looks like a broken ankle. I'm coming to terms with it not so much tragic, as the cycle of life. When Daisy and I took a walk on the wetland, we discovered a couple inches of snow, with a layer of ice, and a space where the snow had sunk, then a foot of snow.
It was terrible walking, and I'm sure that's what could have happened.

One of 'our' deer will be food for the Coyote or Coywolf. She has a broken leg, methinks. The cycle of life. They take the weak, it is true. A coyote cannot bring down a deer.
 The strong ones can escape, and run like the wind. One of our bucks has an owie, too! (You can see it about 2:15 on the video) Look like either a bite, or a scrape on some wire. We'll see how he fares.

Meantime, our doe, Sister (I think), helps herself to the bird seed, walking up the sidewalk to forage. I expect her to ring the door bell, at some point. "Let's go, people!"

It looks painful. She is nursing it. I am sure some predator will put her out of her misery. This is the way things go. Last year we had a deer carcass in the side yard. I'm sure some thing will take care of her. She still managed to fend off a fawn, creeping in on her nibbles of food.
I'm still waiting for deer antler sheds. They all have a pair on their heads, but soon their hormones shut down, and their bodies stop sending blood to the antlers. They will drop off to save energy until spring. I'm hoping to find one. It's been 4 years I've searched on our 16 acres. I hope, like the owl search, I will be successful soon!


Crippled deer from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.