There are multiple trails that I haven't had the time to work on clearing yet this season. I headed out to do some of that and this is what I found. There's a glove on that trunk for some scale.
So I went down the tree to where it split in two and decided to saw off some treetops. I promptly pinched the saw in there and got it stuck.
First I got another chainsaw and excavated the one that I buried. Then I went and got the bobcat to see if I could move this beast.
I could push it just enough to get the bobcat past. It hit the trunk of another tree at that point.
So I dug the trail wider but I immediately hit the roots of the big tree that it split from. I came back with the Ranger and the saw.
I was able to trim off enough of the splintered trunk in order to make reasonable clearance.
Further down the trail I found this plugged culvert where the creek is going over the top. I'll get to this on another day.
But there were more downed trees.
Everywhere I went, there were more of them.
I got several long trails opened up but there are others that I still haven't tried yet this season.
My neighbor Ron brought his wife and grandsons over for a tour/Ranger ride.
These boys got the hang of the cameras pretty quick.
See...
We didn't venture down many of the trails in the woods - It's a good thing since I was still working on clearing them.
But we covered most of the fields.
The boys seemed to enjoy the ride. I showed them how Thomas and Elliott request "turbo".
Joan and I had made the camera tour earlier.
I broke down and bought one more tub of minerals. They should start losing velvet in a couple of weeks.
While checking cameras, I happen to notice this little quarter sized green spot.
Upon closer examination, it turned out to be some sort of tiny tree frog.
We had better than an inch of rain in the gauge which was a pleasant surprise. I didn't really even venture into the pumpkin patch this week.
Some unusual mushrooms in the middle of a trail.
This was the newly planted clover plot that was mostly pigweed and grass. I mowed it to see if there was any chance of salvaging this plot. Time will tell.
I also mowed some of the other clover plots. I don't know what this weed is with the purple flower but it often invades my clover plots.
Some brassica looking ok.
This is a plot of a chicory/clover mix. The blue flowers are from the chicory.
I picked some apples and pears - the trees are loaded this year (and the deer know it).
I didn't spend much time on the butterfly hunt this week but a couple times the swallowtails caught my eye.
A couple videos at the end.
I did pop a beer and dip a line. Not a lot happened other than a few bluegills.
All the plots need mowed for weed control.
Bobcat again,
Also lots of coyotes.
The 'yotes enjoy the apples.
Standoff with a possum.
Yum, apple.
A few hens this week.
I've always suspected that they hit the grape arbor.
Sure enough, flying up.
Fawns.
And bucks.
Interesting that this camera catches the IR flash going off on another camera.
Picking apples.
More apples.
Even the fawns like apples.
Picking them in front of the other camera.
Here's another interesting read from Bryce Andrews. I previously mentioned his book about grizzlies. This was his first book and it covers his time as a cattle rancher when he was defending the cattle from attacks by the wolves that were spreading out from Yellowstone NP. More good stuff on human-wildlife conflict. Badluck Way by Bryce Andrews
Here is a 15 minute video by Shane Mahoney on the Wild Harvest Initiative. Interesting points on why even non-hunters should care about hunting. He usually has a thoughtful message but he can be a bit dramatic for my taste.
