Tag Archives: winter

Random wildlife shots.

 

Because it’s time to clear out the photo files again.

 

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Momma chuck has been packing on the pounds with an eye toward winter..

 

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But it doesn’t stop her from scrambling up and over the rock wall quicker than I can move my shutter finger.

 

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I have a feeling at least one of her two remaining offspring will be sticking around when the snow flies.

 

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I keep catching him rooting around under the daylilies, filling his mouth with dead leaves and making off for parts unknown with nesting material.

 

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Last year’s fawn comes every night, and since his new antlers are decidedly unbranched, I’ve taken to calling him the antenna buck. Because I’m old… and remember when you had to wiggle those things every afternoon to watch Dark Shadows.

 

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Though these next two pics were at the outermost limit of my zoom, I’m including them because we rarely see momma turkey and her young.

 

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She raises them in the woods and neighboring meadows, never crossing our large expanse of open lawn.

 

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And finally, a few Bambi shots.

 

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Because they’re so damned sweet, I can’t help it.

 

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Have you ever watched a deer go apple picking?

 

Well now you can.

 

 

We had a lot of visitors this past winter.

 

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These are pictures from back in January because I’m still playing catch up from the vacation posts.

 

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Our buck kept his rack a lot longer than usual.

 

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But it didn’t stop him from apple picking.

 

 

 

Or sticking his tongue out at the photographer.

 

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Cheeky little bugger.

 

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Father and son…

 

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Or daughter, it’s hard to tell at this stage.

Winter blues….

 

No, not the depression.

 

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Sorry, not the brothers either.

I’m talking about the colors.

Living in Maine, most of our winters are white. But there’s also a lot of beautiful blue…

 

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And when a storm is moving in?

 

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It’s really quite lovely.

 

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These were all taken through my dirty winter windows last month, so be kind.

 

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But spots and all..

 

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You have to admit winter blues are pretty.

 

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Even the ones that turn out kind of weird.

 

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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.

 

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He started putting the siding on….

 

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Which was a nightmare of non squared corners and uneven ground.

 

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Yeah, there was a lot of that.

His answer? Plant a shrub in front of it.

 

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He was still using his 1950’s power tools and probably wishing for a larger wheelbarrow.

 

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Siding around the window resulted in some very colorful language.

 

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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.

 

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In other news, our neighbor and her daughter fed our deer while we were gone.

 

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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.

 

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Flowers for mom and a thank you deer for her daughter.

 

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That little guy cost me a fortune but he was hand made and too damned cute to resist. Look at those feet!

 

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It snowed right after we got back.

 

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But the white stuff sure does make a nice contrast for the sunrise.

 

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We were happy to see our resident buck was still around.

 

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He’s an impressive fellow….

 

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And clearly his women agree.

 

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He’s got quite a little harem going.

 

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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?

 

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Yes dear, we had deer.

 

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Veritable herds of deer.

 

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Who we love to watch.

 

 

I mean really….

How can you not?

 

 

Such beautiful creatures.

 

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They almost make the slow internet speed we have to suffer in the country worthwhile.

Random ridiculousness.

 

I live in Maine.

We have terrible roads due to the high water content underneath and a never ending cycle of freezing and melting.

Frost heave is a separate season here….

 

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And the potholes can be large enough to swallow your car.

So this made me chuckle the other day….

 

 

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Mainers.

We’re an odd bunch.

 

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With funny license plates.

I also ran across a strange product:

 

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Are slipping nerd glasses really that much of a problem?

 

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Apparently it is.

 

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And speaking of ice….

 

Oh, we weren’t talking about ice? Well, I am now.

We had ice this year.

Lots and lots of ice.

The shovel the snow off the driveway, watch your feet slide out from under you and land smack on your ass kind of ice.

Everything was covered in sheets of ice for weeks on end.

Of course this made for some pretty fabulous icicles.

 

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On the garage, they started out small.

 

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But then they grew.

 

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Which made getting in and out of the garage rather perilous.

 

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Did I mention this was the section of the garage I was nagging the husband to put a new gutter on all last summer and fall?

 

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Maybe now he knows why.

The one thing you definitely don’t want to see in the winter in Maine.

 

Even with the milder winters we’re having, we still see our fair share of snow, ice, and sleet. But temperatures are warming and we’re not seeing those epic dumps of the white stuff like we used to.

 

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This used to be a normal February.

 

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Tunneling was a way of life.

Now? We get a few inches and it melts.

Then it freezes.

 

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I am so done with ice.

 

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Yes, it’s pretty.

 

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But when walking to the mailbox means you might slip, fall and crack a rib?

 

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You can have it.

 

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Give me a foot of snow over pretty shining crystals any day.

 

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And with all that snow, melting and ice?

This –

 

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A leak in the roof.

 

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And what looks like an expensive repair to the ceiling.

 

 

It’s the worst possible time of year for it.

So from now until spring, when we can get it fixed, I’m going to cringe every time it rains.

Good times.