November 23rd

Friday, November 23rd, 2018

If you know me, you know I am not: 1. A shopper, and 2. A fan of crowds and busy parking lots.

So put those two things together and the outcome is that I am definitely NOT a Black Friday shopper. Although I do enjoy a good deal, the previously mentioned outweighs the money saved.

So instead, Paul and I opted outside. It felt marvelous, and was probably one of the last comfortable above-freezing days we’ll have until March.

On our walk in the woods today, we came across this downed log that had three perfect circles bored out of it. Our best guess was that a woodpecker had made the tree it’s home after it had died, and had three entrances (must’ve been quite the place!) before the tree came down.

If anyone else has any guesses as to what may have caused this, I’d love to hear them!

April 1st

Saturday, April 1, 2017

This day was beautiful. 65 degrees and full sun!

Paul and I sat out in our ground blind this morning, and everyone was out moving around. On our walk out we heard our Barred Owl pair hooting back and forth, saw a rooster pheasant run through the trees, and throughout our sit the Sandhill Cranes were screaming at each other, no doubt defending nesting ground.

While we didn’t see anything other than birds and squirrels while we sat, it was incredible how close the birds would come and sit by us. This female Downy Woodpecker was especially fun to watch.

After sitting for over an hour and a half we decided to walk to a different area of the woods. Paul cruised out ahead of me, and I took my time mainly because I was trying to spot one of the owls. At one point I looked up, and saw a White Tailed Deer bounding through the brush to my left. Paul hadn’t seen her as he was still walking out ahead. A split second later, a loud “crash-crash-crash” came from my right, and a second doe was coming right at me, scared up by Paul. She was in a panic, bounding right for me; I raised my camera but she was too close. At about fifteen feet out she finally saw me and made a last minute dive and changed course. It was INCREDIBLE. Like nothing I had ever experienced before. Something a camera can’t capture.