Saturday's Critters

I'll begin with a #75 report. This is the squirrel we released after rehab at our local place. I think! Proof of life, but not a great photo. He was bouncing around the yard.

I like watching the bucks. They shed their antlers in January or February around here. In spring, they begin to grow back. In the meantime...

 This is Tigger and Oliver, a cat we used to have. He had such character, following me when I took Oliver for walks. His sibling would follow a little further behind in the forest.

He great up to be a terrific buck.

Tigger, July, 2016

By August, the antlers look like this:

To give some mention to the doe, here she is. Still pregnant AFAIK!

   

 Fred is still out and about. 

 I had a video of Cinnamon for size, and then Fred (maybe miniFred?), roaring down the driveway. Those little legs! If you have time to watch, you will giggle.

 

Saturday's Critters # 601 <= visit Eileen here for more critters.

Crumbly Acres Action

🛬🛫Imagine my surprise when I read the flights, they had to land in Newark around 4 pm! What could go wrong in Newark?!  Then, they had to catch another plane home at 8 9 pm. I live vicariously through others' travels.

The kids arrived home from Portugal, via Frankfurt. I like to watch their progress! Imagine my surprise, watching them all day, when they veered like this.

I added the weather radar layer: a massive storm!

🐀Back to our little groundhog nursery. 

Fred moved her kits just before I left for Ottawa. I sat on the deck and watched them. Sadly, we seem to have blackflies around the deck. I can't do a deck spray, since we've tree frogs and a hummingbird feeder up. I have a sunburn, as well as blackfly bites on my arms. I wasn't out much in May, as it was cold. I put on sunscreen, but not enough. 

As we sat there, Fred brought her kit out. The other miniFred seemed to be back at the shed.

 They were quite worried. Fred and Cinnamon had an agreement. He got a bit close to her kits though, and she hustled them under the deck. 

Joe's thought is that Fred was making them feel better, feeding right there in front of us. I was fascinated.

🦌Saturday, we heard some squealing, and I wondered if coyote was back. I saw a deer heading across the yard. Fred was not pleased. I believe it was just the deer who was going to eat Fred's Hostas! 

Phoebe should fledge Next week. Bless their little souls, bopping around debugging the yard!

My planters were well-looked after by Joe. This is a fuchsia, Eileen!

Fishies are doing OK. I may have to fill it up with some well water.

The back deck had gray tree frog nap here.

We had a pair of bucks come by June 1st.

 

Monday began with frost

 That was a shock: frost. The poor daffodils! When I put garbage out at 7:30, they were droopy!

I went back out for a walk after things warmed up. Look at them holding up their little heads!

They are so droopy! Poor little tulips.

The peony were falling over! Later in the day they perked up. Whew! 

Grecian Windflower

The Lenten Rose is tricky to photograph. I used the iPhone. If you could picture me bending over, trying to get them in focus! You can see my blue sleeve in the top left corner of the first photo below.

I tried again on Monday... We've rain on the way, I was happy to see the sun.

Grape hyacinth

We had deer visit. They are happy grazing.

There was a trio of bucks. 

We'll see what today brings!

Does and bucks

Sunday there were more bucks with lost antlers! This is Prince William. He's probably lost this antler in the past 24 hours, and we won't be able to identify him. 

Joseph Brian was out feeding them. You can see them waiting and watching from down the hill. They each get a mouthful, not much in the grand scheme of things, but since we feed the birds...

Hurry up, man! 

This must be the last of the trailcam videos of bucks with antlers. 

buck cedar corridor 1 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Sadly we've a buck with a dislocated ankle. We'll see how he does. At first I thought it was a doe, but Joseph Brian spotted antler buds. He could run, which is a good sign. We shall watch for him. 

doe dislocated ankle from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Maggie last about 9 years  (2011 - 2020) with a similar injury. We made sure she got her fair share of rations:

Maggie in 2020 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Not a good Monday. I was feeling dizzy and nauseous, visited the loo frequently, and had chills. I cancelled my Tuesday afternoon client, JB cancelled his physio appointment. I went to bed and had a nap. JB has a persistent cough. What a pair! This morning I am better, but I'll take it easy. 

Antler shed season!

I wrote Saturday about King Frederick's deer shed adventure. I try to write about my adventures sequentially, but the deer shed was epic. I can't wait to go show my two clients! 

These are the last photos of the bucks, a few days before when they all had antlers.

bucks Jan. 20 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Jan. 21st, On of the Princes turned up (Harry?) with a split in his ear, and no antlers.

 

buck shed from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I poked my head outdoors Saturday at 7 a.m., and heard several coyotes yipping away beyond the forest in the wetland. The doe in the yard didn't seem too worried about it.

coyotes pee from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I trudged down to the trailcams Saturday, and found some trailcam action.

 

deer run from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Sun., Jan. 28th, I noticed Prince William has lost an antler.

The weather has been awful, with rain, freezing rain, and the critters haven't been out much.

 

fisher Jan 19 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

We call the Momma and twins (Fuzzy, and the other one, a male) the Trio.

deer trio from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Saturday's Critters

 As I have said, it is deer shed season. The bucks' testosterone lowers in the cold and without nourishing food. They don't need the antlers to fight much, since they have already established themselves as boss. 

I moved the trailcam out the kitchen window to see if I could capture the coyotes on the lawn. Silly me. Look what happened!

JB yelled at me from the kitchen, 'You're going to want to see this. Bring your camera!'

Here is King Frederick. He was down to one antler. He shook his head, and off it popped right before my very eyes! I wish I'd had my videocamera!

Good hubby went out to fetch it for us! At this point, the driveway was sheer ice.

I ran out to the garage to watch!

I thought this side was a 7-point, but on closer inspection, there are 8 points.

My friend, Justin Hoffman, a professional photographer and wildlife writer, has taught me a lot about finding deer sheds. He has a massive collection. He wanted a photo of my antler to show his buds, and sent me a photo of his collection! He makes epic videos, as well. He has given me much advice on setting up trailcams.

Lest you think I ignore the females, Jan. 23rd I noticed the doe out front under the feeders. She walked right by me on the sidewalk. 

 

Doe on the sidewalk! from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I even got her on the Crumbly Acres camera!

doe walkies from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

After this I headed out to the back 40 to look for the other antler, but it was way too icy and a horrible walk. I gave up. The trees were covered in ice, branches droopy.

 Heading down the driveway to check for mail, wearing my boots with ice pics, I fell! It was funny and harmless as I fell in the snow bank.

Here they are with the last videos of them with antlers!

morning munchies from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Jan. 18 deer crew from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.