Richard Deer, Little Richard, Mice Friends

 I read a book called The Forest. I found it an interesting depiction of how society changed in the life of a UK forest over 900 years. We've been watching an Amazon TV series: Sherwood, set in Scotland in 1984. It is a depiction of the UK Miners' Strike, based on two actual murders, and I looked up some information. The forest is amazing in this series. 

Critters on the trailcams have been scarce, aside from our deer friends.  They were sheltering under the large pines trees when I looked out back at 6 a.m., rain pouring down in the fog. This was Friday, Dec. 30th. It turns out our biggest buck, Richard Deer, has a hurt! It doesn't look infected, so I am hopeful he'll last until another deer hunt next year.

We can identify the bucks by the shapes of their antlers, which remain mostly the same over their lifetimes. Richard has a split on his right antler tip, that is a great identification trick. One of the triplets has lost one antler. The timing all depends upon food sources, and energy demands, which reduce their hormones. They will all lose them soon, and regrow them in spring.

You can see my problem (below)! I was on my tiptoes, trying to focus through the kitchen window, but had forgotten my reading glasses. I am resisting the urge to cut this serviceberry tree down. With the monopod and zoom lens, photos are easier, but the tree is a pain.

It occurred to me that we've two older bucks as I looked out the window. I say older, since their age range is 2 - 5 years. There are lots of hunters around us, lots of roadkill with speeding cars. In captivity, heaven forbid, they can live for 23 years I've read. Each year they add an antler points on each side, more or less.

 I think we should call this 8-point buck, Little Richard! Little Richard knows his place and defers. The big one, Richard Deer (a 10-point buck), was giving the other one the eye.

Two bucks📹

The rain was ridiculous! We've had another Colorado Low. A skiff of snow Sunday night.

Remember little bunny's hole? It belonged to Fred Groundhog, who scarpered. It appears flooded. Poor thing must have moved somewhere, unless Fred Groundhog dug a proper tunnel.

We have mice friends, no question about it. I posted my earlier video of mice friends in the Facebook group for trailcams, and got a bit of advice. Some pointed out that mice carry disease. Others like the fact that I called them my friends. That arises from the fact that Caitlin invented 'Mice Friends' who lived above the kitchen ceiling tiles, back 35 years ago when we lived in Ottawa. There are few indoors. You can see why.

This went on for hours! The feeder above is great TV for the cats. The mice clean up the mess.

mice friends from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I finally did another picture. I've missed drawing, I just haven't been in the right head space for it.

Mouse tails – Happy endings are good!

It's been quite a week between one thing and another. New outdoor tap.
Putting Buster down, cremation, sans cremains. Property taxes installment are due! It's not cheap being a homeowner!

A bright, clear day, I thought I'd clean out the shed, removing debris.
Then the new tractor, covered in dead leaves from the fall.  I started the engine, but it wouldn't catch, although the motor turned. I backed it out manually. Then, I heard the peeping. One of them was sucking on my finger, looking for food.
I put them in a box, on top of the bench, went into town with hubby for his eye appointment.  I realized that I didn't have the right kind of wrench to clean out the trctor.  Back into the store for a $10 wrench with a hexagonal screw head.
I'm going to have to be careful next year. I never even thought about it.
They were still there when we returned, and one was dead.
I took them out, put them in a bucket, with the nesting materials removed from the tractor, and put them on the floor this time.
Rather afraid to look, when I went out the next day they were gone! I am happy about that!



For those wondering about a deermouse... this is one I found in a bucket in the shed. The video shows the babies peeping in my hand. They'd fallen out after I started the motor. Blind, they must have been pretty young.

deermice babies from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Dear mice in the attic

Yes, we have 4 cats.

Dorah would sit here for hours in winter

Yes, we have deer mice in the attic.
There are field mice EVERYWHERE outdoors. Daisy caught one yesterday. Dorah ran over and smelled Daisy's mouse breath. Quite intrigued.

The deer mice aren't so much in the house, as one feline or another often grabs it quite quickly. I've shown photos of Dorah, who sits guard on top of the shelf.

Daisy hunted a field mouse
out in the snow, in winter.
She sat and listened, then pounced!
It was tunneling under the snow.

During one of those dates with Mr. Insomnia, I was sitting at the dining room table at 4 a.m. and a mouse ran up the chimney brick and slipped up into the attic, exactly where Dorah is gazing. We called in a professional, who charges $50 for a consult. He went all around the house, and up into the attic, insulation everywhere! He tells us is it a moderate infestation. Nick gave us some ideas.

• Close up the bottom of the wood siding of the house (which we will do in fall, to save my garden!)
• He could put poisonous traps in the attic.



Deer mouse

• Put traps in the attic ourselves.

The poison won't be acceptable, since we have 4 cats, plus another couple of cats who visit us from across the highway. The mice could go outdoors to die, and the cats could eat them.

Just a dab of peanut butter as bait.

I decided to use peanut butter-baited traps.
They scare the heck out of me, I still have a certain amount of panic attacks and stress around sudden, loud noises.
Watching the video the manufacturer provides, I figured out how to set them properly.

Nick suggested I simply put some quick-kill traps in a box and put it in the attic. Anyone with a small attic door will understand that this middle-aged woman wasn't thrilled with squeezing set traps and a box up there.

Deer mouse

We cannot set them about the house or outdoors, since Daisy seems to eat anything (including drinking my coffee). I decided to set the traps near where Dorah has spotted her mice friends, but put them inside a cat carrier! The cats cannot get into the carrier, but the deer mice can!

June 11

They are ubiquitous.

I put four traps in the carrier, up on the shelf.

June 13

I spotted Sadie, who looked as it she was hunting mice, in the basement. I took two of the traps and put them in the other carrier down there. Two up, two downstairs.

Dorah inspected it!

June 15

There I was, watching TV, when I heard a strange sound. Oops, caught one. Daisy was quite keen. One mouse in the upstairs carrier. Looks like it will be a good plan.

June 16

Daisy decided she wanted out at 4:30 a.m., predawn-ish. There was no cat food. I filled the dishes, checked the traps. Two more mice. I loathe killing them, but they carry disease and shouldn't be in the house. Someone killed two in the shed a couple of days ago. They are ubiquitous!

I can't count! Can you?

deer in yard Mar 17 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Of course, all cats were inside!


Deermice in the hole from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
This is how to capture deermice. Again, they managed to get into the plastic garbage can. They chewed holes, or something did. They must be hungry.

Round and round they go, where they stop, nobody knows

I went out to feed the birds, and found two deer mice! Handily having my videocam in my pocket...

Somebody got into the shed and removed the lid to the garbage can. I'm afraid to look for an entranceway into the shed. Perhaps we have wood rats? Either way, it's a spring project, not easily done in the dead of winter.

Silly little deer mice. They were in the shed in the can, eating the bird seed. I hauled the can outside the door, and had a chat with them. It's bird seed, not mice seed!

After tipping the can over the larger one took off like a bat. The other one simply sat there! I had to encourage it. Meantime (below), we had a Daisy/Buster playtime in the snow in the backyard.


Mouse in the hole from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

We like to sit under the tree in the warm sun. The shed is in the background.


Cats backyard playtime from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
The sun is glorious.