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Before the snow fell, our resident rodent pest from Hell. red squirrel was busy.
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Stealing seed from the birds and apples from the deer.
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Seeds were stuffed in every conceivable hole and our deck looked like a fruit salad exploded.
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But after the first snow storm?
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She was a happy camper.
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And remembered most of her stash spots.
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Im sure that fruit tasted good.
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She’s annoying.
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But clever.
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As I was cruising Amazon for a calendar the other day, I realized there was only one choice.
Oh, I could have picked one with barns. Lord knows we’ve spent enough time and money on ours.
Or I could have picked one with white tailed deer. But we have plenty of those in the backyard.
And I could have picked one about beer. But the man cave has one of those already.
So what did I choose?
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Yes.
Not 12 months of red squirrels… but a full 18.
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Seeing all the trouble she’s caused us in the past year?
It seemed highly appropriate.
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He’s still here.
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And still showing up despite losing his mom.
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He’s much smaller than the other yearlings but seems healthy.
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And his eyes are still a little blue.
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Husband thinks he’s a buck.
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Time will tell.
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Remember the tree house our neighbors built?
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The one right at the edge of their property line… even though they own 20 acres down to the water?
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The one I was glad was nestled behind a few trees with leafy camouflage?
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Well, there’s my husband cutting down each and every single branch that provided relief from prying little eyes.
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Not at all helpful.
Not one damn bit.
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A few more pictures from my camera last month.
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Look at this beautiful juvenile red tail hawk.
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Just hanging out on the bird feeder pole waiting for lunch to drop in.
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We see him cruising over the property now and then…
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But he rarely perches so close to the house for an extended period of time.
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Heck, he was even comfortable enough to take a bath.
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They really are spectacular creatures.
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Thanks for dropping by big guy.
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And if you happen to see a mangy little red squirrel wandering the roof line?
Please don’t miss.
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While downloading photos from my big camera the other day, I came across these that were taken at the end of autumn.
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Evening grosbeaks are a bird we rarely have visit our backyard.
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But that day a large batch of them dropped by.
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They’re pretty little things…
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And made short work of the sunflower seed buffet.
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Now is it me….
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Or do they look like the original angry bird?
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One of these things is not like the others.
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Which makes me wonder what that poor bird did to be ostracized.
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And speaking of wild turkeys, did you know they make excellent snow shovelers?
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We cleared the path but they’re enlarging the dining room.
And speaking of paths…
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Now that the man cave is being readied, more shoveling is required after every storm.
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Welcome… one and all.
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Aside from the wreaths on our home’s windows, this was the extent of my lackluster Christmas decorating this year.
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Snowflakes lights in the Barn Mahal. Battery powered and on a timer.
Ho! Ho! Hum…
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And while Christmas will feel a lot different this year, there are some things to look forward to.
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I knew it would probably happen, but it doesn’t make it any easier to take.
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Our little blue eyed Bambi is all alone now.
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We haven’t seen his mother, the old always pregnant doe, for weeks. She was nearly skeletal the last time she visited and I think her poor old body just had enough.
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I’m glad she taught the little guy this was a safe place for his daily nosh. I just hope he can hook up with the rest of the herd before the full brunt of winter sets in. There’s safety in numbers when you’re a little fella.
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Mother and Bambi are chowing down regularly and trying to lay on extra winter pounds.
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But sadly I was right about the blue eyes fading. Once this little one grows up we won’t be able to distinguish him/her so easily.
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But look who’s made our backyard his new hunting ground….
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A juvenile Coopers Hawk.
He perches on the bird feeder pole and waits patiently for lunch to drop in.
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I got excited when I saw this:
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And was seriously hoping mother red squirrel had met her doom…
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But unfortunately it was a dove.
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Better luck next time guy.
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Birds.
You never know who’ll show up.
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Turkeys on Thanksgiving Day? That takes balls.
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They’re even pushing the envelope by ripping up every scrap of weed block landscaping paper I laid under our tree.
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And blue jays.
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All of a sudden, a large flock of blue jays.
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There were blue jays everywhere.
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And the greedy little devils wiped out four feeders in no time flat.
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Birds.
Sometimes annoying, but always photo worthy.
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