This Really Made My Day

I had to run to town this afternoon for a few things from the store and on my way home I saw this beautiful forkhorn buck standing on the side of the road watching the cars go by.  I turned around at the next side road and grabbed my camera and drove slowly past him.  I stopped right on the highway and took about ten pictures of him and he stood and watched me, posing one direction and then the other, then he ran off into the woods.  Needless to say, these were the best shots I got all day.   I was also very thankful that there were no cars coming from either direction while I was parked on the highway taking pictures.

Wild Rivers Whitetails

I had the opportunity today to go inside a couple of the deer pens to see the newborn fawns.  We found two fawns who had not been vaccinated and tagged yet.  One was very calm and laid very still but the cream colored one walked around and it kept following me around.  I kept trying to move away from it long enough to take a good picture, but I couldn’t.   It stayed only a step or two away.

Got Mud?

It’s that time of year again.  Time for the annual Fence Mud Run.  Actually, yesterday was the second time they got together this year.  They were all out there last weekend tearin’ it up.    It’s way too much fun to only do it once a year.

The following pictures are of my daughter’s boyfriend’s truck.  And yes, she’s in there with him.

Getting stuck.

Preparing to get pulled out.

The windshield wipers don’t work, so they had to drive to a nearby creek for water to wash the windows.   How did he see to get there?  I’m not sure but he probably had to drive with his head hanging out the side window, Ace Ventura style.

You know you’re doing it right when you get mud on the inside of the truck too.

Josh and Savannah.   Ya just can’t beat mud for a good time!

Don’t even ask.  All I can tell you is that the fish were not biting in this particular mud puddle and he went home empty-handed…well, almost.

Thursday’s Sky

For some reason,  I was not able to upload any pics to either of my blogs yesterday, so I will put them on today, two days late.  These pics were taken throughout the day on Thursday, starting at about 1:00 pm. and ending during my lunch break at work at 8:00.

1:00

2:10

2:16

2:22

8:01

8:04 Facing east

8:13 Facing north

Winter Break III

We got 6 more inches of snow last night and a high of 11 today.  It’s supposed to get down to -15 tonight.  Now, on a brighter note, here’s a few collages from warmer days.

Fumee Lake Natural Area

On Thursday I had to go to Iron Mt. to get new tires put on my truck and do a little shopping, so I decided to take a ride out to Fumee Lake. I had never been there before so I thought I would check it out while I have a chance. I have had this week off because I quit my job after 21 years to start a new job and it is definitely a step in the right direction for me. A BIG improvement. I will be driving much farther to get to work every day, but it is well worth it. Anyway, Fumee Lake Natural Area is very beautiful, but I didn’t have enough time to really search the area to find any new wildflowers that I hadn’t seen before, so I decided to share a few of the ones I did find anyway. The family of young wild turkeys pictured here were on my way to Iron Mt. on Hwy C.

Fumee Lake

I was lucky enough to find a Garter snake to photograph, but unfortunately, he snagged a frog for lunch (look closely) as I snapped the shot. Oh well, one man’s frog is another man’s Big Mac, I guess.

Crown Vetch

Wild Bergamot

Spotted Knapweed

Camera Critters #18

This past Thursday I was driving down an old dirt road when I spotted these 2 fawns and their mama. I drove past, swapped lenses and went by again and stopped. They stood and posed for quite a few pics before they ran away.

Mama deer was right nearby, keeping a close eye on me.

Wild Rivers Whitetails

The Wild Rivers Whitetails deer farm is right across the road from our house. There have been a couple eagles hanging out in one of the pens lately, so I did something I never do; I went across the road and sat by the fence with my camera, hoping to get a shot of an eagle. I never saw the eagles, so I got some pics of the deer instead. As soon as I got near the fence, all the deer ran to the back of the pen, but then they got curious about me and started to come closer. I got pics of a few does and a pretty nice buck, with his antlers still in velvet.

Family Time

I was at my brother and sister-in-law’s cottage yesterday for a cookout and to watch the fireworks display later in the evening.  Shortly after I got there this mama duck brought her family over for a bite to eat.  My brother and his little girl were tossing pieces of bread for them to eat, so while they were busy eating the bread, I was busy snapping pics.  Mama duck didn’t eat, though.  She kept a watchful eye on her babies, (and us) the whole time.

Camera Critters #8

This week for Camera Critters I’m posting pictures of a little fawn that was abandoned by her mother and was found by our friends 2 years ago.  They took it in and fed it and cared for it until it was old enough to fend for itself in the wild.  They named her Molly and she co-existed quite comfortably with the family and their menagerie of pets, including 2 dogs.