Still Growing!

One of these days this guy will come in to the salt earlier in the day. and I can catch a better (clearer) picture of him.

 One of the horses, (I think it's Alpine) insists on kicking the salt block out of the box.

Boots was just laying out of the picture ignoring the deer.

Making Up for lost Blogging Time!

It's kind of interesting to watch this fellow grow his antlers. A few weeks ago he just had little bumps.

 It looks like he has not done growing yet. So far it looks like a 3X3, but will likely be bigger. How much bigger? Stay tuned for future episodes.

 The white lilacs are blooming and my friends the hummingbird moths are back. For more info see Link .

 There were actually four of these today, and as they are only 3/4 of an inch long, very hard to track and keep in focus.

They have a very long tongue for getting into where the nectar is.

We must have at least 50  Tiger swallowtails around the lilacs.

My friend the hunting spider is back, and was enjoying a meal in the sun.

And of course, the horses  ( and dog} are still hanging about.

Other than that, all is quiet on the acreage.
Happy summer everybody. Tomorrow will be one second shorter!

The Project

This project was one of necessity. Our place is built up about 6 feet above the driveway. To meet the criteria for an access ramp, it meant 72 feet of ramp had to be built, with landings for resting every so many feet.

 After much mental thinking, I was able to utilize the existing landings and only had to build 2 additional ones to meet code.You can see the existing steps in the fore ground, and see the construction needed to make the "U" and tie into the landing at the bottom of the 3 steps.

 That landing continued onto another 16 foot ramp, to another landing and then another 16 foot ramp down to the lower landing.

 I still have to install hand rails and toe boards to prevent a walker from coming off the ramps.

While finishing up for today, I noticed Biz feeding away from her herd mates and joining up with a deer.

My Dad gave me some advice when I was a kid. He said something like

" If you have a job to do, read a book on how to do it. The knowledge will be with you forever. If you need a tool, buy it. It will last longer than you. Do it yourself, unless you are making $25 per hour." (going rate for a tradesman at that time

That was sound advice that has served me well over the years.

Every Spring

These guys and gals start showing up. Life is good when there is salt available.

 This little knob head just started coming to the salt. I suspect he was here last year because he had the dogs and horses all figured out.

 The photos are a little soft because of the window pane .

 He knows I am watching, but doesn't seem to mind. I had to shoo him out of the garden. He was eyeing up the strawberry plants and apple trees. He will get to know what is allowed and what is not pretty soon or I will turn Brooklyn loose on him, if I can wake her up.

Meat in the Freezer

He's not the biggest I've got, but still dressed out at around 150 pounds. It was a clear warm day and I wanted to make the most of it. I was hunting by 9:30 am and bagged this one at 11:30.

The deer aren't quite in the rut yet, but I had some fun anyway. I moved and sat and rattled for the better part of the two hours. There was another buck that was quite annoyed with my rattling. I saw his tail, and outline, but not his head. There was so much brush in the way, I wouldn't have taken a shot anyway.

Just when I was thinking that i had gone far enough away from the truck, I spotted this guy sneaking across a cut line. After the shot, I kind of asked myself "Why so far from the truck and why so much uphill?"

It took from about 12:00 noon until 2:20 to drag him out. The uphill was a killer on the back, but I got him out OK. I was home by 3:00 and the dude was packaged and in the freezer by 7:00 pm.

This tired hunter is off to bed pretty soon. I was thinking that I am getting too old for dragging deer, but banished that thought. Old thoughts should not be thunk!

First Hunting Trip of the Year

This is the guy that I went up the mountain to try and find. He hasn't been around for several months,but I was kind of hoping to come across him. The weather was not good with lots of cloud, fog and high humidity.

I walked and rattled for 4 hours,but never saw a thing. None of the tracks were new and the walking was tough with about 6 inches of crusty snow on the ground.

I would like to see just how big that rack grew over the summer. Next time out, I will head for lower areas on the mountain. I doubt that anybody got him in bow season, as he is pretty wily. there are no current pictures as the day was really gloomy.

They do grow up fast! this is only about two months since the fawn was hatched. Already she has grown almost to mom's size. If you look closely, right under the white arch is Boots, king of the domain.

The deer are not at all bothered. Mom is showing junior that some dogs are safe to be around.

 the fawn is not too sure though, and is keeping a close eye on Boots.

Fall is coming!..Fast

The Spotted Tussock Moth caterpillar is now showing up, a sure sign that summer is winding down. 

Spotted Tussock Moth

The raspberry bushes are starting to turn colour, and the berry crop is almost finished.

The young deer are still in velvet, but the larger bucks are coming out of it. This little guy has decided to sleep near the salt lick and water trough.

It appears that more damage was done in the county as a result of the wind storm than first thought. Winds were clocked at 100 km/ hour at the airport (official) and total damage is estimated at 3 to 4 million bucks. The Lion's campground will be closed until at least Labour Day and 600 trees have to be cleaned up to the tune of $70,000 dollars. We got off lucky, with no on property damage.

What's New?

These guys are not new. They have been around most of the summer and are starting to sport more mature racks. It's no wonder that my horse salt is going down faster than normal.

They Do Grow Fast!

This was the largest of 5 that showed up at the salt lick this morning. Bow season opens in about 4 weeks. Too bad, he's on the property, and in the "pet" mode

From the Deck

Not much happening around the Acreage today. The deer are still coming in to the salt lick, and are now drinking out of the horse trough.

I haven't seen any fawns from this year yet.  At dusk ( too dark for pictures) we have had up to seven deer, mainly bucks) running around, chasing each other and generally having what must be deer fun.

 Hopefully we will start to see some really young ones soon.

Through the Trees

They're back! Actually they just disappear for a day or two. The little buck has grown his horns from button to about 6 inches and two points per side. It will be interesting to see if he adds any more points.

 As you can see, the whitetails get along very well with the horses, and vice versa.

 There were four in the holding area, all at one time, but frolicking around so much, I couldn't get all four in. One young buck, one doe and two fawns from last year. The fawns were just like kids. When mother was bothered, she put the run on them and they just kept egging her on.

They really do like my salt lick!
 The adults go over the fence and the youngsters tend to slither through. They don't seem to mind the barbed wire.

Quiet Saturday

I found this little buck sneaking along the fence line. You can just see the start of his antlers. By the size of him the antlers will likely be two points each, or in other words, a pickle fork.

 I turned the Gurls loose in the paddock for an hour's grazing on new grass. They are rather tired at this point and pretty laid back.

 Alpine has almost lost all her winter coat and is starting to look shiny again.

I stuck up a few more bird houses this week. They have been sitting on the shelf for a couple of years.