We started the week attending the eclipse in Nashville. I found an interstate rest area on the line of totality. Awesome. We also went to the Grand Ole Opry and visited the Miller House in Columbus IN on the way home. Joan arranged it as a birthday gift and it was fun.
Gone for two weeks and 0.3" in the gauge. I'm sure some of it evaporated.
The beets and greens in the barn field are doing very well. We had tons of deer in the new plots this weekend. Just on Saturday evening, there were 8 does and 5 bucks in the two new plots.
They are munching on it already. We had a mainframe 10 point with a split brow tine (therefore an 11) walk right past me as I was BBQing on the porch. It might of had something to do with the wind and the weather. Saturday was a low of 55 and a high of 73. In August. Wind was blowing right at me on the porch. He (and 5 other deer) came out of the barn field, walked right up between the barn and the pumpkin patch, and went to the apples. It was an hour before dark. The biggest buck was very nice - a couple inches wider than the ears, very symmetrical rack, nice brows, but really nothing exceptional. I don't think that I've seen him on camera and he seemed to know where they were. He avoided them when he got to the orchard.
This is the main field. In the foreground is oats and brassica. There were a bunch of deer out here Saturday evening. In the background is a plot that I planted in clover. It is barely up and needs a good soaking.
Apples are quite an attraction.
They are really looking ripe now.
The one tree has a new broken branch. This is in the vicinity of where I took dead branches down previously. Same event? Storm damage?
I picked another bucket full. Based on my sampling, they are much more ready now.
The pumpkin patch looks like a jungle.
I ventured in and found some vines surviving under there.
We have some orange pumpkins already.
Other varieties too.
This is supposed to be one of those huge prizewinner pumpkins.
There are some decent sized ones.
Many still growing.
Other types.
Warty goblins.
Some vines withered.
A few varieties of gourds.
Survival of the fittest for sure.
I dipped a line. The pond was low and clear. I found the grass carp that I stocked 10 years ago. They're about 3' long now. I'll add a video at the end.
Butterflies for sure. I chased a monarch or viceroy for awhile and never got a shot.
Lots of different swallowtails.
There were two of these guys frolicking.
I gave the minerals a little refill.
They've continued to use this spot prior to the refill.
I saw four fawns in the field on Saturday.
Apples draw a crowd.
Wait, that's not a deer.
Apparently it was the guy from the water company.
Many turkeys.
Big beards.
And the coyotes.
This buck with the bare shoulder has been a regular.
I'm pretty sure that this buck is the one that I called "squid" last year. He had some little tentacle like tines. They all got broken off when the fighting started. This guy has "v" tines on the right side.
At first I thought this was a dove but I bet it is the brown thrasher identified by Steve@bluejaybarrens in a previous post.
Chores.
Many varieties.
Need to do more of this walking.
