Saturday's Critters

We've critters in the night! Labbit hopped on by.

 

I do like catching them on two cameras!

 I am most excited to see the action at the deer scrape. The doe, and the younger buck wandered by. 

The videocam ran out of juice, the buck was there, but also here on the driveway!

🦌It is rutting season. It's also deer hunting season, so the deer are a bit antsy. Hormones and fight or flight. 

The bucks make a 'scrape' and urinate on their glands to put out their boy smells. They nudge a tree branch above them, to spread out more scent. I don't know if it is meant to make the females happy or the other males jealous! I saw a pair copulate in the backyard one year. Of course I videotaped it! (Not for the squeamish!) 

Here is our big buck doing his thing at the scrape. They are spreading their scent. 

 

 The raccoons were quiet after it snowed and got cold. This is prior to the storm.

 

This is what we expect Sunday morning↓. A power outage. Hopefully we'll get back up by lunch-time! 

Visit more critters here: Saturday's Critters # 622.

Deer mating season has begun!

I wrote this a few days ago, but since then we've had snow. I'm anxious to go down and see if they've uncovered it. 

This buck scrape is being monitored. Three scrapes in a row!

I put the trailcam on it. 

There is another scrape, at a bush with branches hanging down. (Non-mental note!) 

It was a nice walk. 

Last flower for awhile!

Here he is: football, curling, control over the TV clicker, a cat, and a warm fire! What else could a man want?! 

Nutmeg (AKA Killer) watching her more passive brother hunting for mice. 

I came across this photo from 2013. That teeny evergreen! 

↑2013, and now↓ look at that tree!

The branches are burdened by snow.

I created a puzzle, now that the snow covers all the lovely leaves. 

The owl tree & deer scrapes

Sunday was busy, after finishing the wood Saturday. I cleaned the goldfish tank, did some floors, and played outside. (The latter was the best part! I know that all of you will agree.)

I walked back to the 'owl tree', you can see the white mute under it. One more pellet. 

I'd seen a buck out back Friday morning, his frozen hoof print in the path. 

Deer scrapes

First they scrape out a clear spot with their hooves, then they urinate on their tarsal and metatarsal glands to put their scent on the scrape. They also nudge the branches above to put scent there from their preorbital and nasal glands. From October to December they aggressively scrape as testosterone levels are high. Charlie Alsheimer has written a piece about this. He says there are three placements of scrapes: boundary, primary and random scrapes. This scrape is a primary one, I think, on a major trail all the critters use. 

This is last year's video by the frog pond. There was a scrape back there. I think that means we have 5 scrapes on the property. I hope we have little fawns come spring.

The squirrel is up to its old tricks. It didn't figure this out until later in the bird feeder year. Can you see it on the tray feeder?

This is from last spring. It remembered the whole deal. What can I do?! Squirrel won.

I wrapped the rose bush. It made a difference in terms of blooms last year. I wrapped my new plants in the daffodil garden. 

While the deer are on the move, cottontail continues to hang about. I was reminded of the cat we had around the house. (Not ours!) I borrowed a trap and tried to capture it. It didn't dissuade bunny. She is back this year. I never did see the cat. 

March 23, 2024

I've been puttering around the yard. Remembrance Day symbols have been put away. Seasonal symbols are out. I think the drain spout is a nice touch beside it!

 

Deer scrapes, rutting season

The good news is Joe went back to the lab, off to the doctor's office, explained the issue, and back to the lab where they took his blood for the PSA blood test. Again. He'll check every couple of hours for a result. So far, nothing.

UPDATE: the test results were good. Same numbers. Cancer injection Tuesday.

Remembrance Day is Monday. It is a federal statutory holiday, but provincial offices may or may not be open depending upon the municipality here in Ontario. I had a great chat with Jesse in Vancouver, and after a Panto rehearsal, they were going to the cottage for the long weekend. It is a provincial statutory holiday in British Columbia.

I get my COVID and Flu shots Monday. Joe has to wait until 2 weeks after his Lupron injection for his cancer treatment.

🦌It is rutting season. It's also deer hunting season, so the deer are a bit antsy. Hormones and fight or flight. 

The bucks make a 'scrape' and urinate on their glands to put out their boy smells. They nudge a tree branch above them, to spread out more scent. I don't know if it is meant to make the females happy or the other males jealous! I saw a pair copulate in the backyard one year. Of course I videotaped it! (Not for the squeamish!) 

I found two scrapes beside the frog pond. Joe found one on his walk down beside the shed. 

Funnily enough, this one is right in front of the trailcam. 

The videos were somewhat sketchy. The buck comes in and out of frame. He didn't get the memo.

He really worked the scrape!

   

 This was funny, as you can see flying debris as he scrapes it.

 

I took a screen capture, and you can see the antlers better.

Here is our buck last year. Their antlers grow the same pattern each year. They'll lose them in January/February, after rutting season is over, food is scarce, and testosterone diminishes.

Something to look forward to! He lost it right in front of me as I watched through the kitchen window.

I moved the trailcamera to get a better image of the action at the deer scrape. All I captured was coyote peeing on the deer scrape. 

We had a hard frost!

Yes, Autumn is truly here. We had our second snowfall Tuesday night. The poor Trick or Treaters! I've been doggedly doing Autumn chores, but forgot to bring the shovels up from the shed! Chore fail!

🕷I found myself a tick on Tuesday. Unknowingly, I brought it inside with me. I was sitting processing videos when I felt a tick crawling on my hand. It was quickly wrapped in a piece of tape and chucked in the garbage. Easy peasy. 

 JB had what we think was a tick bite. He went to the pharmacist who gave him a prescription for Doxycycline. We've learned so much about Lyme Disease, and how to prevent it. We've done pretty well fighting ticks. Unlike the year Daisy brought home 200. You can see one on her cheek.

 

With the cold they will nestle in under the leaves, ready for next year.

The amazing Datura plant is done for, after a hard frost. 

Hopefully, with all the flowers I had, the seeds will produce another plant or two next year. 

They sure were pretty over the summer.

The frost is so pretty, and I am done with gardening. 

The hanging planters were done, as well. During the cold day they just wilted. I've put them away. 

🦌 I keep looking for new signs of the season. This is a big one. It is rutting season. Each doe will only be fertile for 24 hours, so the bucks hang around. I did capture a video of a pair mating Dec. 20th, 2019. It is quite the sight. Raw nature.

It doesn't look like much, but it is a deer scrape. The bucks scrape out the leaves under a tree branch. They urinate over their tarsal glands to put their scent down and let other bucks know they are there. They also nudge the hanging branch above. I put the trailcam on this spot, but haven't gone down to fetch it yet.

Soon, I shall put lights around the water fountain.

These lawn ornaments have to be put away, as well. 

Cinnamon and Frosty

That was quite a week. Now, why do you think Facebook suggested this ad for me?! 

I laughingly told Caitlin that I was watching the broadcasted hearings, on the government response to the Truck Convoy, as a break from our municipal issues. The next protests are against the provincial government of Ford, who wants to pass Bill 23 to be able to pave across the Toronto Greenbelt wetlands and make his developer buddies rich. Sarah Harmer was in Smiths Falls protesting at our local MPPs office for a protest.

The federal government enabled the Emergencies Act at the time, to put in some laws to freeze occupier GoFundMe funds ($10 million), and force trucking companies to tow away the culprits. The tow trucks were bribed and/or threatened not to do so. The law requires the government to hold a hearing after the fact to determine three things:

1. Why did the federal government declare the emergency?
2. How did it use its powers?
3. Were those actions appropriate?

Ottawa citizens, who were the victims of the lockdown of the city spoke. Local politicians spoke of what their citizens went through, racism, anger, the smell of diesel fuel and the noise of 24/7 honking. We heard about a baby being treated for frostbite by paramedics. This last week we had the final week, during which 7 cabinet ministers testified. On Friday the Prime Minister testified. The lawyer for the convoy occupiers read some testimonials from said occupiers. One said, "We just want to be heard!"  

The Prime Minister replied with this, 

"It was it was clear that they just didn't want to be heard. They wanted to be obeyed. They wanted us to change public health policy designed to help Canadians and were going to occupy locations across this country and interfere with the lives of Canadians until such a decision was taken."

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

Back to nature. Saturday morning we had red skies. Of course, by the time I would have looked up the proper camera settings, it'd be gone. Here is the best I could do! I just used the automatic setting.

Cinnamon went out for about 90 minutes. Nutmeg an hour until she got hungry and came in.

I went down to fetch SD cards, and realized I'd forgotten to turn one camera on, after resetting it. That's the one at the deer scrape. Oh well. Maybe today I'll capture the action. 

Who do you think this it? I could not see it, but I could hear it.

 

who goes there? from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The pumpkins are popular along the driveway. I can see the trailcam light up in the dark, in the background. 

It should be frosty out there, but we expect rain today. I'm thinking of reconnecting the water barrel, just to fill the goldfish pond a tad. That will protect the 3 little goldfish I couldn't get in. The deeper the water, the better as it doesn't freeze and thaw.

I've put out a few traditional seasonal items. Frosty is an old faithful.

Cinn and Frosty from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.