Okay, if you insist.
I caught a couple of nice shots of our old doe in the field.
I don’t know how many seasons she’s seen, and the poor thing didn’t even blow her winter coat this year.
But she comes for dinner every night.
And brings her kids.
Whose little Frankenstein nubs always make me chuckle.
Everyone gets along well.
Except this one.
Who sticks his tongue out at woodchucks.
I guess everyone has a rude child once in a while.
Woodchucks!
Posing in clover.
Having a healthy snack.
Kissing.
Or biting, who the hell knows? They’re rodents….. for all I know they’re discussing campaign strategy.
They love lettuce.
And since we’ve been flooded with it from our CSA, so have they.
Behold –
My first photo of momma and 4 babies together.
She’s down 2 due to fox predation, so the sextuplets are now quadruplets.
Poor momma.
She’s fiercely protective, but Mother Nature always has the final say.
Like these quick shots I didn’t have time to focus.
Do you suppose that starling called Uber….
And this was what showed up?
But there’s a woodchuck right behind you.
The deer was oblivious for quite a while.
But when she finally did realize it….
The interspecies communication did not go well.
Chuck – 1.
Deer – 0.
Yes.
I’m literally going to talk about crap…. and you’re going to wonder why you ever started following me in the first place.
Piles of crap have suddenly begun showing up on our front lawn.
Same spot, by the kitchen door, every morning, totaling 4 piles.
Sorry, I can’t.
Weird as it sounds, we’ve lived here for 18 years and have never had a dog leave a deposit. Ever!
It’s too big for woodchuck or fox. And it’s not skunk. They leave a trail of small black poo nuggets on the driveway.
We have started seeing raccoons late at night, and they do make the rounds.
But I’m thinking coyotes might be setting us up as a rural rest stop.
So if any of my readers are expert scat identifiers?
Now would be the time to weigh in.
*Poop Update – since writing this the other day.
The count is up to 5 piles, and since it rained…. closer examination of contents was possible.
(Still with me? You really are loyal readers!)
Seeds.
I think we can safely rule out coyote now.
If you’re getting bored of our backyard zoo…..
Tell me.
I won’t stop posting pictures….
But I could probably be talked into just the highlights.
Or then again….
Maybe not.
So feel free to skip these posts if critters aren’t your thing.
I won’t be upset.
But he might.
They’re baaaaaaack.
Well, at least the babies are.
And they’re making themselves right at home on the deck.
A little too much at home for my liking.
Because they’re trying to get back into the hole they all came tumbling out of last month.
Cute? Yes.
Respectful house guests? No.
And then the other day, a friend helped me out.
No, it’s not the same picture.
Look in the lower right hand corner….
Baby woodchuck is finally earning his keep.
Well done sir.
Carry on.
Don’t get excited, it’s a photo dump. No one wants to see the other kind.
My files are filled with woodchuck pictures.
Mother and baby on the rock wall.
Mother bringing Junior to the back deck.
Junior checking out the back deck.
Junior checking out the new grill.
Two babies on the other rock wall.
Two babies playing tag.
Two babies eating apples.
You see how this goes? I flood you with woodchuck photos and you say awww.
Here’s a woodchuck, a turkey and a duck for variety.
Momma had 6 babies and I have yet to get them all in one picture.
But now would probably be a good time to say awww.
The woodchucks.
Adorable, but hungry.
And there’s no rhyme or reason to what they’ll eat.
This echinacea?
Stripped to a stalk the same day I planted it.
They devoured it before I could even get a picture, and if you know me? You know that’s fast.
This candy cane Dianthus? Nope. They left it alone.
The exact same plant on the other side of the garden bed?
A mere shadow of itself.
WTF?
So when it came time to replant the bed I had removed the woodchuck chewed mallow from, I went to the experts and got a list.
A list of woodchuck proof flowers they were guaranteed not to eat.
Blanket flower? Check!
Planted two, they haven’t touched them.
(Please note dianthus is on the list and we all know how that turned out.)
Foxglove? Check!
They literally took one bite and ran.
Good thing since it’s the source of digitalis.
Last on the list? Yarrow.
If you’ve ever had deer nibble your gardens to a nub, you know they hate yarrow.
Every critter hates yarrow…. so I planted yarrow.
So…..
Yeah.
The little buggers are screwing with me.
There’s no other explanation.
And look at that belly…
They’re getting fat doing it!
I don’t care how cute you are….
You can’t come in!
Well… maybe if the husband wasn’t home.
We were invited to a few get togethers last weekend, but passed on all of them. I’m afraid I just don’t trust people well enough to gather in groups yet.
So I took a picture of my new, appropriately patriotic flowering plant….
And we stayed home to mow the lawn instead.
Yard work is an all day event ’round here, but it’s quite satisfying.
The daylilies are popping…. and when we were through mowing and whacking and trimming we fired up the grill.
And had an adult beverage while the husband stared, still enraptured by his new toy and it’s viewing window.
( Latest Seagram’s flavor review: Wild Berries – meh. Won’t be buying that one again.)
After some truly marvelous steaks, husband raked grass clumps…. and while I was cleaning up the kitchen?
I looked out the window….. and took a picture through the screen which looks like a bad acid trip.
( Or so I’ve been told. I have no personal experience. No. Not me. Uh uh. )
But yes.
That cute little bugger was at it again.
Eating one of the flowers he’s not supposed to like to eat.
Someone needs to revise that list.
River's world..... 