From Outside the Bay Window

Two days ago, this was the first thing that greeted me, in the morning, as I walked into the livingroom and glanced out the bay window.

Beautiful.  We even made eye contact while I was taking her pictures.   She didn't seem fazed...I am wondering if she has encountered me out in the yard a few times.  After a little while, she did mosey away.

I have mixed feelings about the deer.  I am always thrilled to see them...but, as a friend pointed out, because they are overpopulated,  they are contributing to the depletion of native plants...and giving invasive species an even more competitive hold.  They used to be a rare, thrilling sight...perhaps things would be better if they were more rare.

---as I typed this out on the deck, I noticed my shrub dogwood [silky dogwood (Cornus amomum), I believe] was shaking.  Very odd.  Too much shaking for it to be just a bird.  I got up from the swing, trying to get a better look.  At that point, I saw, what looked, by the size, like a fawn running toward the front yard.  Too bad, no pictures.--

I do have pictures from the other day though:

Old Encounter: A Blast from the Past

While searching my archived photos, I stumbled upon a video that I didn't even recall taking.  This is from a cherished encounter that I posted back in 2014.  Having this footage, allows the magic of that encounter to be relived again and again.

Years ago, I was taking pictures of a frog that was under my deck.  After a while, I got this feeling that something was behind me or something was watching me.  To this day, I don't know if I actually heard something or just sensed it.

I wasn't expecting to see anything, so, when I turned and came--nearly--face to face with a fawn, I let out a gasp.  The gasp startled the curious, little fawn.  It jumped back a bit.  It had startled me...but had I not reacted like that, I can only imagine that we just would have looked at each other for a while.   I tried snapping some pictures with my (get this!) flip phone.  They came out rather blurry.

The mother, seeing her fawn so close to "that strange man" huffed, calling her fawn to her.

Here is the ending of that most amazing encounter:

Trail Cam Pics from Autumn 2016

I was looking through the trail cams memory cards today...these are from quite a while ago, but I cropped and saved them today, so I might as well share.

Thank you again, Jeff, for getting me the game cams and for sharing the joy of what we find on them. :)

Game Cam Pics

I finally set up the game cam again--and perhaps in a better spot for seeing what comes through our yard (seems it is a wildlife trail), but not aesthetically or composition-wise.

No surprises here--deer...but it is great to see the fawn.  With a bit of cropping some of the photos don't look so bad. :)

But deer were not the only wildlife to show up on the game cam.

Among some of the common critters that one would expect to see,
some surprises were in store for us.

More to come...

Surprise Visit

I guess the holidays aren't over yet in our house; Jeff and I were making another holiday treat before sitting down to binge watch House or Orange is the New Black--depends on what Jeff picked (either is fine by me).  We still have tonight and tomorrow before we head back to work after Christmas break.  We were toasting Pepperidge Farm thin white bread in the broiler to prepare them for a ham and cream cheese concoction that we make every year with left over ham.  I'd set the time, and was on my way to take out the bread when I spotted a deer just outside the kitchen window (the motion detecting light was on).  After getting Jeff's attention, he spotted another, and then a third, as I got my camera ready--too bad I didn't have the game came set up tonight!  Anyway, after taking some shots, Jeff announced that we'd burned the bread--we both laughed (easier to do since we hadn't spread it with the ham spread yet.   We started the process all over again, and I decided to post this before sitting down to enjoy the show.

Here is one of our surprise visitors:

Now off to enjoy my snack.

Amazing Encounter

 I had a surprise visitor today while working in the yard!

I thought I'd be posting about moving rocks and planting some of the thousands of seedlings that germinated from my winter sown collected wildflower seeds...and the frog I spotted sitting on a rock under the deck where I was working.  However, the frog was not the only encounter I had with wildlife today.

While I was taking photos of the frog, somehow I realized something was behind me...I can't remember now if I heard a little huff or something before or after I turned around.  Before, I think.

I turned around, and startled, I gasped!  A small spotted fawn had approached me while my back was turned.  It was so close; I swear it might have nudged me had I not turned around.  My gasp startled the fawn who jumped back and darted a few feet back.  I quickly recovered from the shock and made a soft clicking sounds which seemed to reassure it.  The fawn stopped and watched me...luckily it stuck around long enough for me to get my phone out and the camera app open.  After I took a few shots I got a video of it going back to its mother.  ~smile~

Very cool encounter.

Nothing like this ever happened to me before!

Doe Update

A few hours later, I went out into the yard again with some seed to scatter away from the house.  When I got to where the deer was earlier, she was not there, so I entered (what I'm calling) "the woods" to put some seed where I normally do.  Right before I entered the path I realized that the doe was right in front of me, spooked, and trying to run up the steep slope.  That is when I realized she was injured.  One of her front legs was bloody and possibly mangled--it happened pretty fast.  I feel so badly not only that she is hurt, but that I went back and made her flee on a bad leg.

I went back to the house a different way so she didn't feel like I was pursuing her.  Back at the house, I grabbed two apples and some popcorn seed.  I went back to where I've seen here in the woods, and left a treat for her--assuming she returns.

If I find that she has returned, I'll try to give her more treats to help her get through the winter and heal. However, I don't want to go back and spook her again.  I'll figure it out.

Unexpected Encounter, Unexpected Shot

Today, after starting my Backyard Bird Count, I decided to head outside to try to get some shots of birds out in the yard (instead of just what I draw to the window).  I grabbed a handful of sunflower seed to scatter in a couple of spots out in the yard (as I've been doing for a month now).  As I approached the lower, far corner of the yard to put my last handful of seed, I spotted a deer in repose, but eyes open and alert to my presence.  I dropped the seed on the ground where I stood (instead of the usual place) and slowly got the camera ready.  Until now, especially this year, I've only been able to get a photo of them as they are fleeing for the most part.  So, this was a great chance to get a good shot.  It turned out okay, but is not as focused as I'd hoped.  Still, I'm so happy to have seen her, and to have left her undisturbed.

Today's Encounter

It all happened so fast, and, of course, I didn't have the camera with me anyway...this morning I went out to feed the birds, and startled a deer that was right by the greenhouse.  I must've heard a rustling and looked up.  By the time we'd made eye contact and I realized that it was a deer, it was gone.  I didn't even notice if it were a doe or a buck...the only thing that registered was that it was BIG!

I suspect, if it wasn't coming for the sunflower seeds, that it might've been after the apple peelings and cores that I threw onto the vegetable garden bed along with potato peelings and such.  I was fine with that and was looking forward to seeing it again (next time armed with a camera), until I realized that it might get into the habit of coming to the garden come spring and wreak havoc on the vegetables that will be growing by then!

Since I'm posting without a picture anyway, I guess now is as good a time as any to mention the encounter I had the other day--away from home.  I think I spotted two foxes!  We were pulling out of the parking lot of a restaurant after dusk when I saw movement of something near the dumpster.  A moment later I spotted two of them in the headlights of the car escaping into the weedy area.

I have never seen a live fox before (although I've seen one or two as roadkill before).  I've wanted to see them visiting our property--or, perhaps, making a den in the brush pile or something.  Maybe once the habitat starts to grow in  and I've added enough native shrubs, trees, grasses, and wildflowers.  For all I know, they could be visiting our property already...some day I'd like to get a game cam.  Knowing that I've spotted them less than twenty miles from here, I'd expect to have them out here more in the country.  I look forward to posting a photo (or more) of a fox utilizing the habitat I'm trying to provide.

Maybe I Should Look Out the Window More Often

This evening, I went to the sun porch to get something and happened to spot (I think) two deer right in the back yard. I went right back in to get the camera and ran to the window. By that time there was only one in sight. I took the pictures through the window so as not to scare him off.

I wonder what else I've missed over the past few years. :)

On a Brighter Note

Around 8:00 this evening, I went out again to walk the paths (trails?) in the second acre. I startled a deer that took off. I circled around the upper path and toward the corner of our property farthest from the house. There I spotted what appeared to be a doe and a rather large fawn. As I've done before, I stopped and began signing slowly to her--she seemed mesmerized. The two stared back at me watching intently. I only had my cell phone with me. I slowly took it out and snapped a few pictures from quite a distance. I kept moving a little to the left to get a better shot. Then I stopped and turned around, not wanting to scare them...and hoping they'll be more likely to trust me if I encounter them again in the future.

I cropped the pictures, so imagine how far away I really was. Sorry it is blurry, but the memory is clear. ~smile~

Crunching Snow Encounter

A little late in posting, but the other week we had very cold temperatures, and I went out early in the morning to warm up my car before heading to work. I was crunching through the snow, when I heard some snow crunching across the street from me. There on the wooded hillside were four to five deer. One or two of them were eyeing me as the others were inching there way back up the hillside. It was a nice surprise.

Yesterday's Walk: Wildlife Encounters

Yesterday, I went for a 2 mile walk that turned into a 3-4 mile walk. I live in a fairly country setting, but the road is a bit too busy for me--and a bit narrow for walking. I was surprised at all the wildlife I encountered that day.

It began when I heard an odd croaking caw, behind me that I assumed was a crow--when I turned to look I spotted, to my surprise, a blue heron flying along the stream which flows below a steep bank on the opposite side of the road. I love blue herons and have spotted several in the past week, but none near here and so close. When I turned he seemed to quickly shut up and just flew silently ahead of me.

That would have been enough to make my day, but there is more. Aside from a songbird or two along the way, in a water filled ditch along the shoulder (of another road) I spotted salamander larvae! At first glance I thought they might be tadpoles, but upon further examination I was thrilled to realize that they were baby salamanders! ~smile~

I took pictures with my cell phone, not the best pictures, but at least you can make them out. I'm estimating there must have been at least 50...about 30 can be seen in the picture (I counted the other day).

On my way back home, back on the somewhat busy road on which I live, the stream was now below me on my left. I can glimpse it through the trees. At one point I heard what sounded like someone wading through the water. I looked back and down, and through the trees I thought at first I saw two people wading through the stream-- until they darted out of the water and up the bank did I see them clearly--two deer!

It was an amazing walk! There is a variety of wildlife within a mile or so of my property, and likely on my property. The more improvements I make to our land the more we will see close up!

And to prove my point, upon returning home, I walked my paths and spotted several birds...but, what caught my attention was what I at first assumed was a monarch butterfly in the grass sunning itself. I was able to get several pictures each one closer than the one before. It seemed to me that it must have been exhausted because it didn't fly off as I approached. After getting some pretty good shots (with my cell phone), the sun started shining more brightly and that was just the boost it needed to take off and get away from this towering being getting ever closer to it.

Thinking of posting here that I spotted my first monarch butterfly gave me a nagging feeling that I may have misidentified it--so I searched the web for "Monarch look alike" and found that I was right--it was the viceroy.

Monarch larvae eat milkweed plants which gives them a bitter taste to any bird that wants to make a meal of it. The unpleasant taste of these orange and black butterflies leaves quite an impression on the bird; it will avoid eating them again in the future. The viceroy does not have that same bitter taste, but benefits from looking like the monarch--it is less likely to become a meal to a bird that has had previously tasted a monarch.

Anyway, it was a good walk and a great day for spotting local wildlife. And it is encouraging to think that the more habitat we provide the more we can view up close in our own yard.





Where I spotted the deer:



Back in my own yard:

My Encounters in the Yard

Today I mowed the paths in our "meadow in the making". After mowing, I walked the paths as I so often do. Among the invasives that I'm trying to control (and eradicate), I spotted some asters that came up on their own. I went to pinch them back so they'd be bushier and shorter and won't fall over into the path.

I spotted a leaf hopper on the newest leaf. As I went to pinch them off, I noticed a lot more on the underside of the leaves. I thought about posting that I'm already attracting a myriad of insects, when I heard something, looked up, and saw a doe that had just run up the hill to where I was standing.

She must have been no more than 15 feet from me. She stopped, perhaps catching my scent, but didn't yet see me. In a moment or two she finally spotted me, we looked at each other for another moment until she did an about face and ran back down the hill.

While I was watching her, I'd thought about slowly reaching into my pocket for my cell phone so I could try to get a picture. I'm glad that I didn't because I would have just scared her off sooner and still ended up empty handed.

I was heading in to post when I decided to go back and take pictures of the paths and leaf hoppers so that I could at least include a picture or two. Too bad I have no picture of the doe, but I have the memory and the thrill from the encounter.


Some of the paths.


Aster with leaf hopper.


Where I saw the doe.