Going... going...

Remember this tree?  Now, leaning severely.  But why haven't they finished the job?  Is the tree too big for them to haul away?

" ... and the Deer and the antelope play"

More visitors to the River.
They had a good time

Foxy

Reconnoitering

One evening the cat and I were on the porch loking down the driveway.

Brazenly comes out from the brush a little fox.  He then trotted across the driveway into the yard before returning into the brush.

The cat, while seeming not to notice, was not happy with this competitor for little Peter Rabbit snacks.

While strolling thru the park one day

Hey, good lookin'!  How 'bout a date?

Just out to enjoy the warmth and sunshine.

Who is that guy taking my picture?

My bonnet keeps me from getting sunburned :)

Deer stroll

Mama, Papa and Baby deer ambled across the yard the other morning. They followed the old cow path that's been here for decades.

And the beat goes on ...

Our neighbors think the beavers should return to our pine trees.

Here's a before and after of one of their nice redbud trees.

Out for a stroll

A pair of geese have been recurring visitors to our place this Spring. Here, you can see them walking around.

One of the geese thought I was getting too close. See him as he flies away. (scenes clipped from video, below)




Finally, watch the video. Listen to the geese begin honking (at 00:29 seconds).

It's fun to see the second goose do his splash landing in the river (01:04).

The video was shot with a cell phone camera.  Surprisingly good quality.  Especially for the clips of the goose in flight. 

It is amazing to be able to show these scenes here, just several hours from when they occurred. 

Can you remember 8mm cameras? After a few days at the photo processor, you could see silent home movies with the projector and screen. And we were all excited back then to enjoy the show.   

Ducky

We seem to have a new recurring visitor this Spring.

Five deer went to the River to drink water

Early in the morning, she saw five deer walking across the boulevard toward the River.  They traveled along the path--  using the new path (see post, Happy Trails).

Carefully opening the door to get a clear show, forgot to zoom with telephoto (sorry).  And it was so early, the camera had to be set to f/4 at 1/400 second with film speed = ISO 1600 to gather enough light.
Maybe this detail shot may help you see them.

Happy Trails

Some wild critter is walking along the new path. Still need to rake the little branches so grass will grow here in the Spring.

Sharecropper in the Garden

Cat is resting after helping in the garden.

Don't be fooled.  Those eyes that look sleepy are still vigilant for little bugs to find and chase.

Cats are carnivores, after all.

It happened last night

The trees along the Riverbank have a tough life.  Saplings are sitting prey for the beavers in the river.  Just last night the beavers paid yet another visit to this tree.

See the freshly cut-off part?
See the leaves on the grass that were stripped off as the beaver dragged his new tree down to the river?

Notice how there are 5 "stumps".  Well, three years ago there were two. (click here to see an earlier post, when there were 2 stumps. The second inset shows what had been twin trees.).  

Each year since, the tree has tried again to grow, and each year the beavers have claimed the new growth as their own.

Maybe next year the beavers will go elsewhere and give the poor tree a chance.

---

Camoflage

Just another view of the river, quiet in the morning. But look carefully...














What kind of bird is this? Some kind of hawk?

Jot down your Bird Identification in the comments. (click pix to enlarge)

Yellowjackets sting

Returning to the scene of the crime.
Didn't see their hive in the ground while weed-whacking. About a dozen of them stung and chased the intruder.
The picture here was taken a week later. Look carefully & you'll see one of the critters. (click pix to enlarge)

Deer (one deer)

Early in the morning a deer came to visit ...









Then he decided to head for the road ...









... so we went back to morning coffee on the porch.

Geese - after Christmas

Here's a view of the Christmas geese. How many geese were there?

Hope you enjoyed the pix.

Cat and mouse (rabbit)

Look carefully and you'll see the cat is very much alive.
But, it would seem the rabbit in her mouth is not so fortunate. (see earlier post, "Deer Me")

Good news: Just after this picture was taken, the bunny got away and ran into the grove, chased by the cat. The cat returned to the porch; bunniless.

That's not good news- those bunnies ate my beans!

Deer

Last Sunday we saw a deer in our "grove".

Looks a little hazy 'cause it was taken through the window. When I went out onto the porch, it ran away, of course.

Deer me

Looking out the window this morning there appeared to be a baby deer bounding across the yard by the river's edge. Upon further observance, surely it was a fox, or more likely, a coyote. Grabbed a long pole & ventured out to where our cat hangs out. No more kitty!? Whew, she was on the porch, vigilant for rabbit Hunting.