Gray Fox

I took my nephew out for a bit this morning to try and find some old farm scenes to photograph for his entry in the State Fair this year.  We first went down to my Grandmother's old farm where a few of the old tractor sheds remain.  The old farm is getting on its last leg.  When we pulled up, I noticed some movement on top of the roof.  Was I surprised!  A fox was  up on top of the roof.  It sat up when we pulled up and sat and looked at us.  Eventually it climbed higher and disappeared down the roofline.

We pulled around in time to see it coming down a tree that had grown up beside the house.  Yes, Gray Foxes do climb.

An Then There Were Three

I have been going nuts for the last couple of days trying to find the key to the cable lock I use to mount the trail camera to a tree.  I finally found it today with fingers crossed there was still space on the SD card to capture what I saw today.  Unfortunately, the card was filled and the great fawn shots that would have been are not.  Isn't that the way it goes.


I was pretty surprised on a third fawn.  The matriarch of the herd (on the right) has had twin fawns for the last three years and so it looks that the two smallest fawns are both hers.  After looking at many pictures, she has nursed both of those.  The other fawn which appears a bit older belongs to the daughter.


The fox couple has shown up several times but I have not seen any kits this year.  Hopefully they had some and have just not brought them up.

After closely looking at the photos, I realize that the buck coming up is the same one I noticed back during the winter had a broken leg.  I figured he probably would not make it through the winter but he is still hopping along.

Hot and Humid

What a miserable weekend it has been weather wise.  An early morning storm here kept it from getting as hot as predicted by the weather folks but it was not a pleasant day to be outside.

Friday, I started working with my nephew ( age 10) on one of his projects for the State Fair.  We usually do a couple of entries and one of his entries this year will be a decorated dried gourd.  His attention span is only a couple of hours at a time so it has taken us three days with finishing it up today.  I can't believe I forgot to take a photo!  I figured we needed to get this project completed before he started by to school.  Hard to believe fall is not that far away.

The frog soaking in the fountain had the right idea today.  I think if I could have found some water to laze around in I might have done the same.

Looking forward to the cooler, drier weather that is suppose to come in after tomorrow!

Renovations Almost Done!

I can't believe it has been 30 days since my last post.  In all the years I have been keeping the blog I have never taken such an extended break.  The house renovations are almost complete.  The kitchen which was a huge project lacks only the new flooring to be put down.  While that may sound like a big project compared to the cabinets and other changes it will be a drop in the bucket.  I wanted to get all the cabinet work and painting done so only minor touch-ups might be necessary before the floor went down.

I have really missed being outside but had to focus on the tasks at hand.  Other things were a couple of new ceiling fans in other parts of the house and changing out light fixtures.  I have one more light fixture to change out but not sure about the wiring on a 3-way switch so I will hold off until I can get my brother here.

Hopefully my friend and I will be going to Lake Mattamuskeet Saturday for a day trip.  I really need a break before I start on the floor.

My task today was to clean out my "work clothes" closet.  30 years of military clothing (three changes in military style) left me with a packed closet I no longer needed.  It is so funny now to look in that closet and see only a few hanging items.  I kept one of each uniform style....the old "pickle suit" (solid greens/Vietnam era), the BDU and finally the ACU.  Sentimental reasons I guess.  That was a large part of my life and I guess one day I will let those go too.

Like everything else in nature that seems off timing this year, the matriarch deer and her daughter have finally begun bringing the fawns up.  I have had the trail camera set out watching and waiting. This afternoon when I looked out the window one of the fawns was wandering around in the front yard.  I tried to ease the window open quietly but the fawn took off.  I went down to get the trail camera and got a few decent shots.

I had put some older apples out at the feeding spot yesterday and they were quickly eaten.  I can see that nothing has changed regarding the doe's behavior when a buck comes up.  All the doe were just relaxing and eating until the buck showed up and they took off.

I submitted my photo for the trail camera contest.  There are some pretty neat shots.  If you have some time to kill check them out here.  Not the best shot because the light was so bright but I liked the way the groundhog was lounging in the sun.  Voting will start after 8 August so check them out.