'Tis the season to be jolly, fa, la, la, la, la... 

What?  You ask.  Kris Kringle?  Already? 

Heck no.  The answer would be - Hunting Season.

The whole country is chugging Pepto-Bismol while suffering from a humongous national hangover following our orgy of lending.  The worried whispering at Starbucks includes a gnawing fear of depression-era breadlines.  Financial markets have plunged so low on Wall Street that the only thing that can leave a deposit on a shiny new BMW is a pigeon.  

I am beginning to think that I may just possibly be reduced to subsistence living.  So I'm going hunting.  (Note to self - expand the garden next year)

Don't laugh.  It might be a good time for some of you to brush-up on your hunter-gatherer shtick.  If things get any worse try buttering a slice of this and eating it.  Come to think of it, if you had enough of those signs you might be able to construct a pretty respectable Hooverville. 

Speaking of bread and circuses - isn't Sarah Palin fetching when she struts and rages about the elitist media?  I got to thinking - what if she carried a whip to complement those stiletto heels?  That would really get the crowds all sweaty and lathered-up.  Rallying the base as they say.  Alas, the McCain Campaign doesn't listen to me.  Another good idea down the drain.

Of which I am reminded that the media elite told me that popular Joe Plumber guy was well-off.  I am envious. 

Now, a plumber couldn't possibly be an elitist.  After all, they come home from work every day covered in, well, you know, the stuff that travels downhill through pipes.  I cringe whenever I get a bill from a plumber.   Therefore, a plumber could factually be well-off. 

Just watch - if Joe lands a lucrative contract to do plumbing supply endorsements for Home Depot he will become wealthier than the Kohlers and his taxes will grow to the sky.  That will teach him a lesson.  He won't be so quick to open his mouth next time.

Since my 401(k) couldn't purchase a pipe wrench I wonder if I'm going to get a redistribution of his vast wealth? 

For this election I can only hope.

I digress.  Don't you just hate it when politics creeps into the discussion? 

Only thirteen more days folks.

Back to the topics at hand - hunting and the creepy apparition. 

I've been regularly relocating a trail camera to see what is out there.

I'm getting all kinds of pictures of deer.

It would seem the territory is crawling with deer.  

The recent appearance of different male deer is significant.

That would indicate they have begun to expand their home range.

They have romance on their mind.

That's a good sign.  

Very soon they're going to stop thinking so clearly - kind of like frat boys on the prowl - and they'll become more vulnerable to the stealthy bow hunter.  

The problem is that whenever I climb into a tree with my bow all I see are song birds.

Sigh.

Actually, that's not so bad.  If you can get a chickadee to alight on your shoulder that would be pretty cool. 

Seems like a long-winded path to get to what I captured, eh?

I fetched the memory chip from a game camera, replaced it with a clean one, went back to the house, and uploaded the pictures.  

Get a load of this-

I captured a picture of a what appears to be a shaggy or hairy creature.

Unlike the other creatures in the woods this one appears to be bipedal.

It also looks like it has a hunch back and shuffles along with a stoop.

It gives me the creeps.

How would you like to bump into this while walking in the woods after dark - alone?

Especially around Halloween?

Shriek!

What do you think it is?

Tom

My wife spied this adorable little fella on the garden hose.

I spied this eating machine on the machine shed.

Both are fun to have around.

Who are they?

I'll publish your submissions in a couple of days.

Tom

Has anyone ever heard of a black lab turning brown?  Ours certainly is.

I'm not making this up.  Girlfriend is slowly turning brown.  At this rate I figure we'll have a chocolate lab by August. 

I've been spending as much time as I can out-of-doors and already have a Larry the Cable Guy red neck tan.  So maybe the dog is fading as I turn brown?  The Labrador equivalent of a tan?  Go figure.

Girlfriend is being trained this summer to follow whistle commands.  Smart dog - she's picking-up on it quickly.

The morning training includes a check of the nest boxes.  Most are empty as the young have fledged.  We'll clean the boxes - removing the old nest, any dead birds and unhatched eggs.  This will give the parents a clean box for a fresh start on a second brood and less risk of spreading diseases.  These pictures were from a foray this past weekend.

Remember this late hatch from the last update?

Here they are now-

We also found scads of this stuff blooming in the meadow.  Can you identify it?

The R2D2-like call of a bird with striking markings caught our attention and we spied a flock of these-

The sighting of this bird was a first for me so I added it to my life list.  Can you name it?

Last fall I nuked a patch of reed canary grass.  I was hopeful some native seeds were patiently waiting in the soil for a chance to be released.  Now there is a sizable patch of this-

Any guesses?

Girlfriend also found this- 

Very fresh and about a yard-long.

More updates later.

 Tom

Girlfriend (the dog) and I have been making our rounds on the nest box trail and a variety of birds have taken-up residence.

When breeding - this little bird will sing from daylight to dusk. 

The male of the species will place a few small twigs in each of several boxes. The female inspects his choices and she decides-upon a finalist and finishes building the nest.

Sound familiar?

Just like this-

Can anyone identify the bird that laid these eggs?

I'll post any comments and the correct answer on Monday.

Tom

Troglodytes aedon  (house wren)

Girlfriend and I went for a walk in the woods today.

Who can tell me what critter did this?

Hope you're having a terrific week.

It is still winter but spring is not too far-off.

Fire-up your search engines.

Locate your Peterson Guide if you need to.

To enlarge a picture - double click on it.

Post as many times as you want.

There are no rules.

No prizes either.

Kids can play too.

This week's puzzle includes nesting birds.

Below are pictures of four different native bird nests.

Can you identify who laid these eggs?

Post your answers below.

I'll reveal the correct answers at the end of the week.

Good luck.

Tom

Back at it.  Out in the stands before sun-up.  Cold - 28 degrees and so still you can hear a pin drop.

Screech owls calling back and forth.

 Pheasants cackling at first light.

 A handful of shots from the neighbor's forty to the east.  That's it.  No deer.

Sunrise

View from my stand.  Tamarack, swamp white oak and cedars.

Sees In The Dark - ever vigilant

Braumeister has one of these rascals living under his stand.

Can you  identify it?

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Took a break for the Packer game.  Lawyer pan-fried a big batch of pheasant fingers served with a couple of dipping sauces, pickled herring, smoked pheasant and fresh cheese curds. Yum! 

The Packers spanked the Carolina by half-time. 

At half time I walked out to a previously unused stand and no sooner than I climbed-in a massive multi-pointed monster jumped out of the willows and scampered thru the tree plantation.

No shot situation.

I am cursed.

Slow afternoon.

Cocktail hour was accompanied by a DVD of Blazing Saddles. 

Dinner tonight is the traditional venison fare prepared by our legal counsel.

I was hoping that I could turn the keyboard over to the lawyer for an accounting of his recipe - unfortunately he is sleeping in front of the fire.

Maybe tomorrow.

Anyway - here are the pictures.  More later....

(Post dinner movie was a DVD of Patton)

Menonnite, Brau and Android enjoying a batch of (beef) marrow bones. Yum.

Lawyer pan frying venison cutlets as part of our signature meal

Deglazing the pan with garlic, white wine, and a reduction of veal and pheasant stock.

Fresh-frozen green beens from my garden. The big pot has smashed Red Pontiac potatoes, turnips and parsnips and shallots - from the garden too.

Here's the crew. Mennonite, Wench, Lawyer, Brau, Android and Sees in the Dark..and a fine Bogle red Wine.

.