Deer Tracks - Part Two

And here is looking the other way, towards the west, for yet more deer tracks. On the left is a large elm tree. I often see the deer sitting under that elm tree. One even favors the spot where I plant a tomato in the spring. I'm sure he is thinking that if he waits long enough, the tomatoes will come. And then he eats them!

In the background is the well-worn path that I have seen them follow at night. I talked to one neighbor today about all the deer. He has seen as many as sixteen or twenty in his yard. He suspects they are on their way to the yard of a neighbor who puts out corn cobs at night and has a salt lick for the deer. Great, just great.

Deer Tracks - Part One

Most of our snow had melted and then we got a brand new snowfall of five to six inches. It is now obvious how much deer traffic we can get in a night or two. The deer can't reach the peanut wreath or the bird feeders, but they can eat what little falls on the ground. What they crave the most, though, is all the bushes in our yard and the neighbors' yards. This summer there will be lots of scruffy-looking landscape in the neighborhood.

Keep on the Sunny Side

We were in St. Paul recently and I heard some birds while we were stopped at an intersection. I looked around and then I looked up. Whoa! That's a lot of pigeons. After we parked, I walked back and snapped this photo. The side of the roof that they are all perched on is the east side and as you can tell, it is about 9:45 in the morning. That would make this the warmest spot to hold their obviously important meeting.

Do you notice the owl way over on the left? I'm willing to bet a bag of bird seed that it is a fake owl. Most likely it's an attempt, an unsuccessful attempt, to discourage pigeons from roosting. It would be interesting to go back in the evening, close to sunset, to see if the pigeons roost on the west side to catch the last rays of the day.

Cold and Steamy

Just as you cannot see the wind, you cannot see the cold. You can however see evidence of the cold. When the lake temperature is warmer than the air temperature, we get fog over the lake.

Downtown buildings are visible in the background in this photo. The geese are resting and doing their best to stay warm. The fence in this photo is part of a plan to reduce the number of geese at the lake.

Many people don't have the unique joy of experiencing temperatures that are below zero. They can't imagine what it is like. It almost does take your breath away. Your fingers hurt and don't function very well. That makes it hard to take photos. You need gloves that are warm but yet allow you some dexterity. Or you need to take a few fast photos and get back in the car to warm up.

Blue Jays Like Peanuts

Recently, we bought this decorative and useful wreath for feeding peanuts to the birds and squirrels. Typically after we fill it with peanuts, it will be ignored for a few days, but then the blue jays find it and they empty it in a few hours. When we just put peanuts out on the ground for them, often they would pick up one, then drop it, and pick up another one, drop that one and finally choose one and fly away with it. We think they were gauging the weights of each one in order to get the heaviest peanut.

We have relatives in Texas that have a few pecan trees in their yard. They had an interesting learning experience with jays. Both people were collecting pecans. They each had a nice pile that they left on the ground while they ate lunch. After lunch, one of the piles was noticeably smaller. Well, accusations were made about stealing from her pile to add to his pile. Protests of innocence. Eventually they noticed who the thief was - yes, a blue jay.

Windy Days

It was windy here the last few days. That's putting it mildly. All night and all day there was a constant roar. Tree branches whipping around. Tree trunks swaying. The plastic watering can from one back yard is now four houses down the street in someone's front yard. The birds that are brave enough to travel seem to be flying sideways.

You can hear the wind. You can feel it. But you cannot see the wind. The flag by our local Perkins waving in the wind is perhaps one of the best ways to show how windy it was.

This poem about wind by Christina Rossetti is one of my favorites.

Who Has Seen The Wind

Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you.
But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I.
But when the trees bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by.

Cowabunga

Go for it!

Here is one of our friendly squirrels making the leap from apple tree to bird feeder. His paws are outstretched, ready to grab on as soon as he gets to the bird feeder.

This photo shows him in mid-air, about two feet past the apple tree and two feet until he gets to the feeder. He ate a few peanuts and some bird seed, then jumped down to the ground and headed for the bird bath for a drink of water.

He will be back another day. Of that I am sure.

Spring Fever

About this time of year, spring fever sets in. The cold and the snow are starting to get on everyone's nerves. Years ago I got spring fever. So I bought one little house plant. Then I bought a few more and a few more and a few more. When summer arrived, I planted a small vegetable garden. Now, years later, I have a large vegetable garden and flowers everywhere outside.

Do you have spring fever? Go out and buy yourself a house plant. Get your hands on some seed catalogs at the library or online and start ordering a few packets of alyssum or zinnia seeds. Start going to one of your local garden stores in early May and buy a tomato plant or some bean seeds or cucumber seeds. If you have just a little bit of sunny space, get bush tomato and bush beans and bush cucumbers. If you have lots of room, you can get varieties that will vine all over the place.

Yes, you might have spring fever. Luckily there is a cure. Become a gardener.

Oh, Deer

Every night they come. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

They come quietly and they come hungry.

Sometimes I see them, but often I only see evidence. Here you see our neighbor's arborvitae. We noticed - yikes! - lots of arborvitae needles on the snow under the tree. Obvious signs of deer munching. Next day, we had a burlap coat for the little tree. Of course, they will find something else to eat. At some point the burlap will have to come off in the spring and then we can hope that they will have forgotten how good this tree tastes.

Two nights ago, at about 2:30 a.m., there were eight of them in the back yards. One was eating bird seed off the ground right outside the house. Slowly I opened the second-story deck door. The deer would raise her head and stare at me for a few seconds and then put her head down and eat some more. I would open the door a few more inches and she would raise her head and stare at me, and then go back to eating again. After about five times of this little back and forth game, she would lower her head, but her eyes kept watching me.

If only we could teach them to eat the velvet leaf, but not the arborvitae. Eat the night shade, but not the tomatoes. Eat the creeping charlie, but not the impatiens. Eat the dandelions, but not the hosta.

Oh dear, oh deer.