Saturday's Critters

It's been a bit of a time. Our shingles have been repaired. I've lots of debris to pick up. I am somewhat tired, working in the heat. Life carries on in the season. We hit 36℃ yesterday, while I was attempting to remove the pine branches. I need to do the 'lawn' at the front. I ran out of steam, and battery power for the reciprocal saw! After applying bug spray several times, I got tired of it all and stopped. 

The Freds have had some situations. I was in the dining room, and noticed a Fred on the back deck! Right beside the door. I wasn't fast enough to grab a photo. It wisely took off down the stair, while I scolded it.

Their burrow flooded, but I saw one back at it, taking fresh bedding material (leaves). I guess they are better architects than I thought. June 28:

They are working on a new burrow under the wood pile. I hope they know what they are doing! They keep rearranging the wood pile winter tarp. Who knew groundhogs would use tools?! 

They are climbers. Who knew?!

The pregnant doe wandered up until June 28th. It seems late to me.

It's tough to get upset with her! Although with the storms we've had, I've had to hammer the deer fence posts back in a number of times. She was smart enough to go around it. SIGH

It was great fun to see a fawn. Finally! Mating season is October/November, and we've been waiting.

Of course, there is no fawn with the bucks! He does a selfie, and you can see how horrid the deerflies are.

Crumbly Acres Cottontails and Cervidae

 We made it to the dentist. I was a bit worried about impending snowfall or ice rain. Turns out it was just snow, and not until we returned home around 4. We'll have some clean up today! 

Not too much snow. And I spotted the slow plow driving by. We should be good.

Hoppy Cottontail

I've been watching Labbit. I'd forgotten we had two one winter (Jan. 14, 2022). They blend in with the garden rocks! 

I snapped a photo of these tracks. She used the same path (the driveway), coming and going. I liked the pattern. 

Down go her front paws, with the hind legs giving her the oomph. 

It was a Wordle word! Seriously?

Cervidae  – hoofed ruminant ungulate (AKA deer!)

Joe Brian has been watching this doe. He is calling her Lefty, as she has twisted her back left leg. Proof of life!

A great surprise Monday morning was to see a buck out the kitchen window. He's lost an antler. We had a big snow or I would have gone out to look for the shed antler. Usually they drop later in January, but it has been cold. Testosterone has been diminishing.

One year (Jan., 2014), I found five antlers. It was a really cold winter, and 5 bucks hung around, which was unusual. I weighed the antler.

457 grams

We don't often have the bucks, but here was Tigger on Jan. 15, 2018. The females stick together, for the most part. 

Then there was Jake, in Jan., 2017.

Back to the present. The fawn was nibbling at the evergreen needles. That's how they get snow on their foreheads!

I love this fawn. It reminds me of Tigger, back in the day. Tigger must be long gone. This one bounces around, looking for trouble. There is a hierarchy, and the older males are boss, then the older females. Everyone knows their place.

   

Crumbly Acres: coyotes and deer beds

December is always a 🎲 crap shoot for weather. I am fascinated by the critters, and how they cope.  It's such a dance, the seasons. Butch raccoon has been in slumber. They don't truly hibernate, and I expected to see them. Also Labbit! 

I got some exercise and fresh air, walking down to the frog pond trailcam. I was very excited, as I spotted coyote tracks all over the place. (I almost never see the coyotes during the day time!) I've 4 trailcams, with two down in the forest. You can see how the paws sink down in the snow to the ground, which isn't frozen. 

Non-mental note: the tracks were down the hill, through the cedar corridor, past the frogpond trailcam, back up the hill, and along the driveway, to and from the highway. The clever things avoided 2 of 4 trailcams! I readjusted a trail cam, because I think I am smarter than they are. 😖

Here are the doe and the coyote, at different times in the same location.

It's fun roaming the forest and seeing who has been there in the snow.  This is a high traffic corridor, sort of higher ground between the wetland and our frog pond. 

The deer seem curious about trailcams, unlike bears, etc., who can wreck them!

  

I've a lot of images of deer beds. I took a photo of the deer beds in the cedar corridor, coyote tracks crossing them. There were three beds.

 

Miracle of miracles, I have a video of the deer making their beds! This is the first time I've captured it on the trailcams. As I wrote, it is a high traffic area, and maybe a silly place to sleep. The coyotes can't take down a healthy deer, however. Not with those hooves. 

 

 

 Here is the second time a few days later!

   

 We've had rain all night, and the snow cover is dwindling. It might not be a white Christmas! There is a flash freeze tonight. I'll have to change my header!

📹 Lots of Critters

It's been cold and snowy. Perfect time to watch curling on TV! Canada was choosing its Olympics teams. I quite liked the arrangement here!

Nov. 29 the sun came out. My orchid has lost three bloom branches. Nutmeg didn't care. She was cold, looking between me and Joseph Brian to be let in. 

With the unexpected action of Barry Beaver, I have neglected the other regulars. This is a buck on Nov. 13th, spreading his scent at the scrape.

Coyote

   

 There are two does hanging around. What I find interesting is that the coyotes trot up and down the driveway. The deer trod carefully on the grass beside the asphalt.

   

 This looks like the fawn that hangs with the does. She did a selfie, you can hear her sniff for food, just in case! 

   

 The fawn was into the garden Nov. 20. I'd forgotten this! You can hear the blue jays yelling at her. 

 

Anyway, the week begins. Lets have a good one. It's -8 ℃. Garbage is out and it is time for coffee!

Crumbly Acres Critters

I have found, since the fox sighting, that Fred is moving between burrows. I think I spotted the remaining kit yesterday. This is from May 24:

I think this is a kit, rather than Fred.

Friday, in the afternoon, the fox came back. I yelled at it to go away, but it circled the garden where the borrow is hidden. A little later, I could hear Fred whistling a warning, even though I sat there for a while seeing if it did return. The fox came by in the night July 29, with something in its mouth! Also, July 4th.

As of June 25th, the one coyote still has a bad leg.

   

 June 26th – the fawn and doe appeared on the frogpond trailcam. I don't know where I put the video, but it showed the coyote going through about 5 minutes later.

   

 June 27th – the bear came back, ambling through the critter path.

   

 The barred owl chose to eat in front of the camera! June 28, 9 pm.

 

For more critters, visit Eileen's blog! Saturday's Critters # 603

Firefly season!

We continue to shudder at what is going on to the south of us 🇺🇸 . No, our 🇨🇦 PM Carney didn't 'cave,' as Leavitt so proudly announced. (Isn't she a perky liar?!)  PMC is choosing his battles to win the war. Many are criticising this move online, but most of us aren't economists, don't have access to negotiations or secret files, and we don't know what we don't know. We've had 55 Canadians disappear. Republicans haven't read the bill they plan on voting for. ur politicians do that, as well. A huge Omnibus Bill, and includes details buried in the fine print.

I don't know what kind of dystopia they live in, but 'Alligator Alcatraz (Wiki)' exists. Some Republicans are proud of this. You can buy merchandise online 😡. Better to call it 'Alligator Auschwitz', or Crocodile Concentration Camp.' I've read both. Apparently, according to Anna on TikToc, the floors are flooding. We know what it's like to live in a swamp! 

🥀 I was quite surprised to find the primrose doing so well. They've grown and spread in my mishmash of a garden. Oenothera fruticosa, the narrowleaf evening primrose or narrow-leaved sundrops.

The catalpa tree is in bloom!

It died a number of years ago. It's been growing back from the base of the trunk. We shall see what happens.

Leopard frogs abound in the grass. Eat those bugs! I have to watch for them when I do the lawn.

Sunrise, 5:45 and it was lovely.

It is firefly season! You can spot them on the video, although the moth takes the spotlight. It triggers the spotlight, too!

 

 I tried filming the fireflies, this was the best I could do off the back deck in the darkening evening. June 30, 9:20 pm! 

 

This'll either be fascinating, or gross you out! Mostly, they are moths.

   

 This was just before the doe gave birth! I think she popped the fawn out further back in the safety of the trees. They eat the placenta, which lessens their risk from predators.

 

Here is a fawn from another year. They have no smell, which helps protect them from predators. They keep their spots until the fall.

Deer, Fred, fawn

 We had a day of rains, just popcorn clouds that pop up, dump rain, and disappear. We had 14 mm rain (1/2") and steamy temperatures on Tuesday. The has since gone, but this was very unusual.

Poor Bambi! This is what happens to them in deerfly season. 

I use these deerfly stickies. Bug spray doesn't work for them!

This is my last capture of our resident pregnant doe! June 24 in the morning on the camera.

June 24th at dinner time, imagine my surprise! 

The Freds are harassed by the deerflies, as well. Their burrows are cool being underground. 

MiniFred is exhausted in this hot weather. I love the little paw stretched out and the yawn!

I noticed miniFred was really wet. What's with that? The dew had evaporated. Did the kit jump in the wetland or the water fountain?!

I went down to ask her, and she wasn't going to tell me. I think she was embarrassed.

Fred and a Fredlet were hanging out just off the back deck. Momma Fred is used to us, lo these 3+ years. 

Fredlet has its doubts about me! One of the burrow entrances is right here, ready to bail!

A busy few days

 That was a day! It went from 5 ℃. up to 24!

🚚 I had a nice email from the company whose van that kept tailing me last week, trying to pass in unsafe conditions. I'd emailed the Operations Manager, who got back to me to let me know that he was going to speak to the two drivers. 

The day began! 

Rather than sitting here in parkas, I turned on the heat, after I figured out I'd put on the A/C at first. 😏 Cinnamon snuggled up on the foot stool, over the heat vent. He sort of fell off and supported himself with a paw on the floor.

We've had deer about. The fawn hasn't been anywhere near the house, as far as I know.

I was out looking at the goldfish pond, watching Jeremiah Bullfrog. He croaked a couple of times – great big bullfrog gallumps.  There were three leopard frogs in the pond. A dragonfly landed and Jeremiah went after it. A leopard frog took off in fear for its life.

 

In the afternoon, a Monarch eclosed! They hang vertically until their wings harden up after they've unfolded.

Things are happening in the forest.

Coyote shares the forest with the deer!  

 The doe bedded down in the forest.  

 The little fawn.