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When Big Daddy buck comes for dinner….
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The rest of the family has to share.
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One bowl for Big Daddy…
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One bowl for everybody else.
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It’s good to be King.
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Tag Archives: wildlife
If looks could kill.
One minute you’re happily eating dinner side by side with your woodchuck brother.
Until he realizes his lettuce and carrot tops might not be as tasty as what you have….
And moves in on your watermelon.
If looks could kill.
That’s one dead chuck.
Holy crap!
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.
Critters.
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.
Ducks… and a deer.
We now have daily duck visitors.
A pair of mallards who make me smile and cut grapes in half. It’s the best food for ducks…. though they prefer to nibble on deer grain.
They’re here off and on all day but make a point of showing up about 4:00pm when I put out the nightly treats for the deer.
You would think the considerably larger deer would scare them off.
But in actuality, it’s the opposite.
The deer is frightened of the ducks and makes sure to eat on the opposite side.
Keeping one eye on those terrifying birds the whole time.
The herd.
It’s been deer central at Casa River lately.
With upwards of 14 at a time.
Lots of repeat visitors from past years, and though they might all look the same to you…. we recognize and call quite a few of them by name.
Alright… Pregnant, the Buck, Little Guy and Dark Doe aren’t so much names as designations. But still.
Our resident buck’s antlers are starting to grow back….
Which always makes me think of Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia’s doughnut hairdo.
They’re all currently blowing winter coats and the lawn is full of hair clumps.
Which the birds, chipmunks and squirrels scoop up for their spring nests.
Mother Nature is a wonderful thing.
Have you ever watched a deer go apple picking?
Well now you can.
We had a lot of visitors this past winter.
These are pictures from back in January because I’m still playing catch up from the vacation posts.
Our buck kept his rack a lot longer than usual.
But it didn’t stop him from apple picking.
Or sticking his tongue out at the photographer.
Cheeky little bugger.
Father and son…
Or daughter, it’s hard to tell at this stage.
A little catch up… the baby barn, a sunrise and some deer.
Now that the Virginia vacation saga is finally over, it’s time to clear out the photo files.
If you remember… before we left for the Cape Cod vacation in November, the husband was desperately trying to finish the remodel on our baby barn from Hell before the snow started flying.
He started putting the siding on….
Which was a nightmare of non squared corners and uneven ground.
Yeah, there was a lot of that.
His answer? Plant a shrub in front of it.
He was still using his 1950’s power tools and probably wishing for a larger wheelbarrow.
Siding around the window resulted in some very colorful language.
As did turning the 3rd corner where things didn’t exactly line up.
Unfortunately that’s as far as he got before the weather turned….
And now I have to stare at this split personality horror show until spring.
In other news, our neighbor and her daughter fed our deer while we were gone.
She sent me this picture while we were in Williamsburg, and wanted me to know the child took her responsibility seriously.
And for that she was rewarded.
Flowers for mom and a thank you deer for her daughter.
That little guy cost me a fortune but he was hand made and too damned cute to resist. Look at those feet!
It snowed right after we got back.
But the white stuff sure does make a nice contrast for the sunrise.
We were happy to see our resident buck was still around.
He’s an impressive fellow….
And clearly his women agree.
He’s got quite a little harem going.
With 4 fawns that we know of.
Funny thing is….. as much as I love to travel, it’s sights like these that always make me glad to be home again.
The herd.
Crazy weather this winter left the wildlife a little shell shocked.
Snow, rain, ice, warm temperatures, then more snow and ice. They didn’t know what the hell was going on.
We had skunks in January and fox in February.
And deer?
Yes dear, we had deer.
Veritable herds of deer.
Who we love to watch.
I mean really….
How can you not?
Such beautiful creatures.
They almost make the slow internet speed we have to suffer in the country worthwhile.
A critter filled post.
Because my photo files are filled with critter pics.
A wet fox.
Two wet foxes.
Okay, okay… moving on.
Baby woodchuck.
These pics are a month or two old, they’re not babies anymore.
I can’t tell you exactly how old because my stupid camera’s date and time setting is broken and everything registers 1/1/1980.
Why? I have no frickin’ clue.
Buck, on the field line.
Doe, in the field.
Wet skunk.
Wet skunk and deer.
This next one is blurry, but how often do you get a shot of a deer sticking her tongue out at a skunk?
Skunk Rule #1?
Do not be rude to skunks.
They will make you pay… and the photographer’s house will stink for a week.
More woodchucks….
Eating apples.
And woodchucks eating deer grain.
More deer.
And deer eating deer grain.
More skunks.
More foxes.
Skunk and fox.
Please remember Skunk Rule #1.
There is no Skunk Rule #2…. when the tail goes up?
Run.
More woodchucks.
I’d like to tell you that’s all the photos…. but it’s not even close.
That’s all for now though.
River's world..... 