Saturday's Critters

 It is approaching the rutting, when the bucks do their thing. The females are pregnant all winter, after being impregnated in the fall. I've noticed a buck hanging around. Normally, most of the spring and summer, we see our does with fawns and few bucks. I spotted him in the dark under the old white pine tree.

Then, he turned up on the trailcam. 

 

Next up was a coyote (or two). It could have been the same one.

   

 This clip was from trailcam #3, and it captured the buck wandering by, then the juvenile deer doing selfies, and the doe, with the yearling bouncing along the trail. 

   

 This little guy amused me, as I passed by his tree. 

   

 A couple of days ago, the buck was quietly eating, then moved over to an Aspen sapling and rubbed the bark away. 

 

buck from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I went down to see what he'd done. I don't know if he's rubbing the velvet off, or marking his track.

UPDATE: On good authority, Justin Hoffman, "Leaving a rub behind. Often done on much larger trees, these little bucks will often work over saplings to leave some scent and a visual indication behind."
 

Finally, I move indoors with the goldfish I brought in from the outdoor pond yesterday.

 

goldfish from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Visit more critters from around the world: Saturday's Critters # 409, hosted by Eileen!

doe a deer, and the fawns

 You must forgive me all the videos of Clover and the fawns. Too soon they will go from lovely, bouncy  bespeckled fawns to yearlings, and lose their spots. Although, this is September, 2013 (below), so we have awhile. 

By October (2012) they are beginning to lose their spots. They liked the ball!

The yearlings seem to be fuzzier in winter than the adults. (Jan., 2014)

I've two trailcams near one another. You can see the deer traveling past cam #1, then coming back across cam #2 (27 sec.)! deer aug 2  

 

And, in the front yard, doe and twins are hanging about. doe twin fawns Aug 5  

   

On Friday, I decided to clear out some weeds from in front of the trailcam. It's a high traffic area for critters, and a good spot to watch for them. Afterwards there was a black squirrel, and Olive and her fawn. forest trimming 

I put an apple or two out for the deer. They liked them. The fawns bounced out of the frame, and come bouncing back again! The deerflies are horrid in the forest. doe fawns Aug. 5  

 

This doe was being mercilessly attacked by the deerflies. I didn't realize the bugs are out at night. doe selfies 

 

Just for fun, I slowed this one down. bird or a plane?  

    

This afternoon begins week 35, and the last week for Gramma Camp. We will miss them, and certainly enjoyed having them in our bubble since March Break 2020. They are seeing their other grandparents, who are looking forward to that. 

It's been a white-tail deery week!

Whack. "My seed!"
 But Babe gives as good as he gets!

My caregiving is going well. NOTE TO SELF: close to drainage port before attaching the day time Foley catheter bag. <sigh>

I am happy when the deer visit. It's a nice change in pace. This caregiving isn't for chumps.

The yearling's coat is so lovely and fuzzy.  Our usual visitors consist of what looks like momma and yearling, and an aunty. I think the yearling is a male, only because he stands up for himself, even towards Momma, when she comes over to nibble the pile of seed he was nibbling. Whack, with the foreleg. It's a deer-eat-deer world.

It's fun trying to capture a cute photo. They are watching intently for cats. The cats ignore them, but they are concerned, as we have mink, weasels, fishers, a vicious gopher (it snarled and jumped at me!), fox, coyote, and the like. Me, they are cautious of but by no means are they tame. One sudden move and they are gone. Sometimes, as I fill the bird feeder, they'll stamp and snort. I just stamp right back at them, then snort in return, and they take off!

Of course, Daisy bops up onto the caterpillar, and the sudden move makes them flee. The yearling hides behind momma!

She peers around the deck post at me.

You can see the difference in size:
yearling/mother.

"Yes? Are you something I should flee from?"
Love those big ears, as she listens for danger and movement behind her. I can tell when more deer, or the wild turkeys, are in the gully, coming up the hill into our yard. They all stare intently in the same direction. We've got the cleanest area under the bird feeder that you could imagine, despite the blue jays who pick and choose the best seed, and whack the rest onto the ground.

Chewing its cud, Babe rests in the sun.

Big, brown eyes keep a watch on us all.
 The fuzzy face is a hoot. I just kept click, through the sliding glass doors, into the backyard.
I love that tongue!

Deer are ruminants, with a four-chambered stomach. They can fill their stomachs in 1 or 2 hours, then they hunker down in the sunshine in our backyard and chew their cud, as cows do.

Join in and share your critter on Eileen's critter party. Her latest post is one the Grackles.