It's Cold! (Part 2)

 I did the last post before breakfast - waiting for things to warm up a bit. So I eventually bundled up and went out for a hike.

 This is one of my Xmas gifts - a Zippo hand warmer.

 I gave it a try and it worked great.  Seems a little odd to have burning butane in your pocket but it works.

 On some of the cameras, I found old shots that must have been on camera memory instead of the card for some reason.  Here's one where Charlie shows up.  I think he was missing in all the previous ones.

 Anyway, this was me spreading some cracked corn yesterday.  I walked around and checked most of the cameras.  In some places they found the corn and in others it was virtually untouched over night.

 This was one of the more active spots.

 First this buck.

 Then this one and a number of does.

 Picked up an oak leaf?

 This was the scene of the overnight activity with the camera on the tree trunk.

 This is a different spot that went untouched.  In addition to corn, Joan cleaned out the fridge and there's apples, carrots, celery, potatoes, and even a couple jalapenos.  

 The prairie plot.  Some of these grasses are 5' tall.

 A look over the top.

 Looking in across the main field to the barn.

The visibility in the woods is amazing with white snow on the ground.  I can see thru this valley and up the opposite hillside.

 A comfy deer bed that I came upon.  I pushed four does on my walk.

 Picked up a stick along the way.

 A little bit of corn has to be a welcome treat in this weather.

 Still sparing.

 Adolescents!

Mom and twins.

It's Cold!

 This was yesterday morning in Mason but it is the same here at the farm.

 The aerator keeps a little bit of open water at the pond.  It is the late muzzleloader deer season this weekend.  I don't think that there will be many hunters.

I just filled this propane tanks a couple weeks ago.

 Joan thinks that I'm nuts but I'd rather be out and about that sitting on a couch.  But I don't stay out that long in this weather.

 It's fun to see the tracks in the snow.  The deer seem to appreciate this culvert that I have for a creek crossing.

 Some places they make their own trails.

 Other times they are glad to use the atv trails.

 Here's a place where they split off.

 It's not just cold in Ohio.  Our great nieces are checking out the manatees in central Florida.  They've huddled up in a canal to keep warm.

One of my Christmas gifts - a hitch cover. 

Here's some recent info that I've stumbled across about hunting and conservation.  I like some of the links in the Dallas Safari Club info and the RMEF does a nice job.
Dallas Safari Club
Elk Foundation Videos
Safari Club International Videos

 There are survivors following gun season.

 And they are still beating each other up.

 But, they remain friends.

 I don't do a lot of supplemental feeding.  I've read that corn piles can be a source of disease spread (swapping saliva). But I did buy two bags of cracked corn and spread it around this weekend.  Cameras should show activity next time.  A little extra energy for the cold.

 A mutant descendent?

 Most cameras display the temperature near the time stamp.

 Some of them warm up from sunshine (beyond the actual air temperature) due to a dark case in the sun.

 But nighttime temps are usually accurate.

 Turnips and radishes are frozen rocks right now.

 I suspect that this guy lost one side in a fight.  He's been this way for weeks.  When hormone levels cause antler drop, they usually both go within 24 hours.

 Youngsters. Siblings?

 And a few doe shots.

 There's a fox on the left - check temperature.

 He's on the right now.  Temperature a few days later -5F.

 Not sure if the coyotes hibernate or den.

The number of photos are radically reduced since the fall.  Only these two shots this week.

 The fox stay active.

It didn't feel this warm.

 A couple older shots with my helper - Lucy.

Sunday morning sunrise.