After Ruthie deer delivered two female fawns, Ellie and Jojo, on June 27th, Forrest and I did our best to keep an eye on Ruthie’s habits and ability to care for her twins. Ruthie herself had suffered a snake bite to her mouth and jaw prior to birthing, which left her unable to eat well … More Four Yearling Mothers
Forrest had to put in a lot of work to keep the wildlife feeders and water tub filled during the recent winter storm. Normally, we hand-carried five-gallon buckets of deer feed down the slope to the feeders, but more than ten inches of snow cover made walking to the bottom much too treacherous. So Forrest … More Playing ‘Possum
The weather generally dictates my schedule for the week. Lately it’s been cold and windy, so I’ve kept to indoor projects. But the last week has been a different pace, with Forrest now retired. There is an ease to everything – staying up later watching a good movie, getting up later than usual as a … More Watching and Waiting
Late one rainy afternoon in early September, I was putting dinner in the oven and thinking about how productive my day had been. I had managed to do some house cleaning, ironing, and a good bit of cooking and baking, and was finishing up a few dishes at the sink when something caught my attention … More A Trip Worth Making
Weekends are usually the same as every other day for me, except that I am not on FD’s work schedule, meaning I do not get up quite as early to prepare breakfast and open up the storage building where our vehicles are stored, and unlock the front gate before he heads to work. This morning … More Hear Me Roar!
It is not uncommon for us to see a fox trotting along in our woodlands. In this region of Oklahoma we see both the small gray fox and the larger red fox. Most of the time they are just traveling through the area while looking for a food source, then move on when they have depleted what is … More Farewell Old Fox
Do not worry. This post is not about Daisy deer and her pregnant status. It is hard to tell with her, but I suspect she is still two to three weeks from having her babies. FD and I saw her this morning and she was doing just fine. Spirit was a little way back in … More A Week Of Woes and Wonderment…
From the time Daisy deer delivered her twins in early June, it was evident her mothering instinct was strong and going full-throttle. For the first couple of weeks before giving birth, and for roughly a month after giving birth, a deer mother will patrol and protect her birthing territory with vigilance. Daisy was no exception … More What I Imagine To Be A Brave Fight
