Life On and Off an Acreage

In-sights into moving from an Acreage back to Town, plus a few things I find of interest.

Two things that horses are scared about:


1. Things that move
2. Things that don't move




Old enough to be eccentric, but not rich enough

September 30, 2019

An Immature Red Tailed Hawk?

.I was out for a short trip with my dog and came across this Hawk. I think it is an immature Red-Tailed Hawk, but am not 100% sure. 

He was definitely a good hunter and I missed the stoop and attack 😒

It's hard on the mice, but hey, Hawks have to eat too.

 Now, what's for dessert?


September 19, 2019

Still here!

As I was taking my daily stroll around Rotary Park, I could here a baby bird crying. It was like "Feed me, Feed me". by the time I got to the Osprey nest, the deed was done and this not-so-little guy was noshing down on a fish! He was very hungry!

I t looks like somebody delivered a Rainbow Trout from the pond.

September 18, 2019

Osprey Profiles

I figure the Ospreys will be leaving for southern climates before too long. I was surprised to see this one still here and even more surprised to see him sitting and posing.

 He was quite the ham
 There was another one circling over the pond in Rotary Park probably looking for fish. It was not cooperative and stayed too high and didn't even stoop for fish.
 I am going to miss these guys. Its hard to believe that two days ago last year we had a snowstorm in Whitecourt!

 Stretching is probably good before a long flight.
 Hopefully, I will be able to get some action shots before they depart.


September 16, 2019

Mule Deer and Ospreys

 Going into Rotary Park today, this family of Mule Deer were at the entrance
 They are used to people and didn't mind resting a bit



 Then again. there is always one exhibitionist!

This is the only Osprey still around. I guess he is just reluctant to get into the world. I don't blame him!

September 14, 2019

The Choke Cherries are Ripe

I was hoping for Robins, but ended up with these crows.  The berries must be getting ripe.


 They nested in a spruce tree two houses down and are very tame. 
 I cant say I am overly fond of crows, but they are  better than nothing!


September 11, 2019

Updates

The Bear that I found in Rotary Park
has been live trapped and relocated by Fish and Wildlife. Apparently, the apple tree was  cut down. A second bear was also trapped. There are still a female with two cubs hanging around. I am happy that I got the photos when I did.

 I am now up to 16 apple pies and 16 apple crumbles that are sitting in the freezer waiting.
I am getting very tired of apples! There are still about 50 pounds on the last tree and I plan to pick them this evening and give them away!


September 7, 2019

Bear in the Park!

I thought I would take my dog for a walk in Rotary Park in Whitecourt today, Sept 7,2019. There was a lot of discussion on bears being seen . I hardly ever go anywhere without my camera and caught this guy chowing down on crabapples. You can see what he thought about having an audience!



These are nature's pruners.



He is hiding, but still wants those apples!



 Yum!


Unfortunately for him Natural Resources arrived to put a live trap in place. He will be soon relocated.
There were a fair number of kids, dogs and parents using the trail beside the apple trees.




August 29, 2019

August 28, 2019

Apple Pie, Crisps, and a Full Belly

Our apple trees are ready for doing something with. The apples are a little smaller than last year, but much more plentiful. Therefore I started working with the corer, peeler and put 72 cups of apples into 6 of these bad boys and 8 Crumbles. 


 5 pies and 8 crumbles made it to the freezer! One got sacrificed in the quality control exercise. It passed with flying colours.

This is God's gift to apple peelers. I don't know how I ever got along with out it. It peels and cores and slices with just a crank of a handle. Well worth the cost in time saved!

Now, I have half of one tree picked with another 2 1/2 to go! I think I will be giving apples away, after 6 more pies!

August 22, 2019

Black Bear andCubs

I have never seen so many bears as I have this year. They are every where it seems  I saw this group  just north of Whitecourt eating Clover and grass. The way they were eating, I suspect we are going to have an early winter. The Mom was very watchful. It was a while before she let the second cub out of the bush
This cub was very cute. He appears to have injured his right eye some how. It sure didn't stop him from chomping down.

He stood up when his sibling was coming out of the woods, but wouldn't give me a front view.

As you can see, all heads are down doing some serious munching.
The sow looked as if she would take no nonsense when it comes to her cubs.

August 19, 2019

Another First!


I decided to do another bear hunt (with camera) and came across this boar Grizzly. I have never been able to get up close enough to get some descent pictures. He was very cooperative. 


I tried not to disturb him, for several reasons. He was very happy feeding on vegetation, and probably didn't want to taste a tough and stringy old geezer like me.



 He looks friendly, but why take a chance. I have seen videos of Grizzlies chasing down elk. They look fat and heavy, but they can move when motivated!
 Yep, a fine specimen and very pretty.


August 13, 2019

A Bear Hunting Day!

I decided to take a drive and see how many bears I could find. I found 9 total, two sows with twin cubs and the rest lone males. The foliage along the highways is lush and green with lots and lots of clover. It was hard to get facial shots as they were munching like there was no end. I suspect we may have an early winter!
 When I first saw these three, they were laying down eating just rising enough to get fresh clover. This little gaffer was quite curious. Mama kept calling him back.
 Mama was a good sized bear and very protective. She kept them close at hand.
 When Mama moved. so did the twins.
 The grass and other stuff was very tall and it was hard to get shots in the open.
 At times the cubs seemed to disappear
She needs to put on a lot of weight before winter!

 This old boar seemed to be quite chubby. All ready for mating.