Laurel Ridge Farm: January 2019

Sunday, January 27, 2019

It Is Winter

We had single digits this week, then up to the 40's, then back to the teens. I wasn't expecting much activity on the cameras. The shot counts were way down.

I expected more movement on the warmer days. This is 46F.

A button buck at 39F.

A girl party at 38F.

37F

24F

23F

19F

15F

Now we're getting hearty - 10F.

Some moving at 5F.

5F.

I always see a lot of in and out traffic here.

So I followed the trail in.

Found a couple beds on this knob.

I suspect this pricker and honeysuckle tangle nearby is a buck bedding area.

Still turnips in the field but it would be like eating rocks at this temperature.

Surprising amount of rubbing activity still going on.

I thought that they'd be over it by now.

Oh the joys of trail maintenance.

Looking for a place to have a 300 yard range. Most places with 300 yard line of sight don't have any backstop. This is a possibility.

Had the power company out to fix the yard light. It's been fading on and off for a couple years. Looks like they gave me a new one. I'm not sure why I expected more than wire nuts for the installation.

The bobcat - one image this week.

Red fox.

Cold doesn't bother him.

Or this grey fox. Not many coyote shots this week. I didn't bother to post the dogs.

The usual suspects - cardinals. Also get red bellied woodpeckers, junkos and sparrows.

I had this electronic mouse/rat trap in the barn. Hadn't checked it in awhile. There was a frozen desiccated mouse in there.

Great visibility into the woods.

This guy dropped (or broke) one side before Christmas.

Not much moving in the extreme cold - this is a brave (or stupid) one.

No evidence of them dropping yet.

I tried to do a temperature scale of me out walking. 23F.

23F

19F

11F

But I got out of order. 26F

19F

13F

28F - Heat Wave.

Polar Vortex event predicted for this week.

Thursday, January 24, 2019

Interesting Blog on Conservation Issues

I enjoyed this post and thought it was thought provoking. Be sure to read thru the comments too.

Prairie Ecologist - Can the Public Care Too Much?

Sunday, January 20, 2019

Weather Change

Saturday was 40F and over 1' of rain fell. Everything was saturated.

By Sunday morning, everything was frozen. It was 11F and the wind was howling. I had planned to do some shooting this weekend but that didn't work out.

One of my Christmas presents (thanks Aunt Karen). I put it out in the dark.

After the freeze, the feeders were pretty popular.

Red bellied woodpecker, cardinals, junkos, sparrows.

Even before the freeze, there were a few takers.

When I walked into the barn one afternoon, a small hawk took off up into the rafters. These are the remnants of some bird he was feasting on. Maybe he was shopping at the feeder? I hope the hawk got out before I closed up. Small like kestrel size.

I did go to the driveway stand on Saturday.

You can't tell from the photos how hard it was raining. I was hoping that the weather change would have them on their feet.

Nothing moved at all.

I picked up my 2017 buck from the taxidermist. Decisions, decisions - where to hang him.

No room here and he would look too small.

So I found him a spot in the elk room. If you're interested, here's a video tour of the mounts in the elk room. Taxidermy Tour

If you are thinking about a trip to South Africa to hunt, you ought to get in touch with the Professional Hunter that I hunted with - Arnold Claassen. Here's his Facebook page. Arnold Claassen Facebook I think that he's on Instagram too. Good guy - wouldn't steer you wrong.

Setting up and trying out another Christmas present (thanks Eric).

And another one - my new Yeti.

Poop of the week.

So who do you think is digging these holes in my clover fields? Moles? With all the coyotes, foxes, bobcats, owls, hawks, cats, dogs, etc, I'm surprised that there's any rodents left. But the mice sure find their way into the cabin (yes, we caught more).