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Joined: Jan 2005
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A few animal tidbits to share with you all.

Today I went for a hike in the woods with four dogs. They all behaved very well, stayed fairly close, and looked so beautiful running in the evening sunlight among the changing tree colors. Our trees are not quite at their peak yet, but are looking great. While we were on top of the ridge among the sugar maples and oaks, a lovely turkey hen glided gently down across our path and landed somewhere in the woods below us.

Yesterday I did the same hike with the same dogs. We were almost back to the house and I decided to take a lower trail on the hillside than the usual ridgetop trail. As I was cutting down below a thicket I heard a commotion and looked up. There was a huge 8 point buck jumping up over a log and that thicket almost up over my head! I reached and grabbed for Peach (our foster dog) to keep her from chasing it and called to my other dogs not to chase. They were good and didn't run after it. It was a beautiful sight to see prance down the hillside across the valley and on up to the other ridge. When I got home and told my husband about it, he said he had seen it walk up behind the house and then quickly take off up over the hill. I think one of the dogs spooked it. I hope it makes it through this upcoming hunting season.

Yesterday morning as I was walking down to my car to go to work, I looked up and saw four wild ducks flapping their wings frantically through the misty morning sky. Then in unison they stopped their flapping and guided themselves down into the fog rising up from our pond. I didn't actually see them land, but heard the slightest splatter as they touched down on the water. It was a very soothing and comforting way to start the day.

Sunday morning I noticed one of our ducks was missing when I went out for the morning feed. Then as I shook the can of cracked corn, she came running up from the garden. I didn't think much about it. But later in the day when I was resting in the hammock, the dogs scared her up out of that same location. So I went and investigated and found a nest with 15 eggs in it! She is a little mixed up in her nesting season, and there's no way any ducklings could survive such cold temperatures at night. (We've had a few nights in the 30s and 40s already.) So we robbed her of all but a few eggs, and we will most definitely use them for ourselves. They are a beautiful pastel greenish color.


Mmmmmmmmmmm....Baps
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Chipmunk
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Wow, Lois! Could you take a picture of those eggs? They sound beautiful! And how odd, that she would lay eggs NOW, of all times! Does this happen often in nature, do you (or anyone) know?

Your hikes sound great, too!

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Gecko
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No duck tales from me, but another comment about young animals being unprepared for the winter. Yesterday while traveling I saw four fawns grazing along a woods edge right by the highway. Although there was no question in my mind that they were deer, I didn't see their spots. (How long do they keep their spots, anyway?) What concerned me, though, was their size in mid-October, which seemed much too small for them to be old enough and strong enough to be prepared for winter's wrath in just a few months. Since I'm no expert on the subject, perhaps their size is an advantage as their food needs would be lessened.

Leequi

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Hello Leequi,
I'm not in this forum much. I really don't know much about animal life, but...
We have lots of deer where I live. - Usually in my front yard. If the fawns have lost their spots, they are old enough to go through the winter. We get some that are late and still have spots at this time of year. I worry about them in case there is an early or hard winter.

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Shelley, last year our ducks laid eggs randomly around the pond, but not in any particular nesting spot. We found another newly-made nest too. It was in the same spot our Blossom duck nested this past spring. It only had a few eggs in it. We robbed it too.

As far as the deer go, I would agree with Lynne about the spots. That's why the DNR has set the deer hunting season in the later part of fall. And doe season is after buck season to give the young ones time to grow up.


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Jellyfish
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Fall to me means waterfowl sightings on the lake!
Buffleheads and mergansers here today, each week brings a different sighting! IT is very exciting!
I always dread deer season with all the rednecks around here firing guns and a relief when it is over!
Marian you must be getting ready for Halloween with your creepy spider on top this page.. hehe..

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It must be wonderful to see the wild deer. I have woods in my backyard but never see them..Yet my parents who live in the city saw one roaming their neighborhood last year. We do have various critters who roam our yard though, such as raccoons, opossum, many birds, and of course the stray cats that I feed!!


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