Deer Friends

Young Spring Fawn

We are most fortunate to have an abundance of deer by us, in large part because of the lake, hills and surrounding forest which affords them protection at all times without having to cross streets.

Like many others, my affection for these elusive, ever-alert animals began with an early showing of "Bambi" and "Rudolph" but evolved as an adult because of their fascinating traits enabling them to establish social hierarchies, and to survive in what can be brutally harsh environments. 

One doe challenging another up on its hind legs.

I have never seen a buck because they are on their own or in their bachelor's quarters seeking out fertile does in the fall. The does, on the other hand, visit daily - night and day - with their fawns and yearlings in family units or herds.

"What was that?"

Now that it's spring, the does are starting to look for areas where they can fawn. Many of the does are pregnant and will have their fawns in May - June. Can't wait! Last year we had a small fawn running around crying out for its mamma. We watched from a distance until mamma appeared and led her off into the woods. 

Very windy day!

IMPORTANT NOTE ON FEEDING DEER: Feeding deer throughout the winter months is highly discouraged unless you know how to adjust their winter diet properly and maintain consistent feed opportunities. A deer's digestion switches over during the winter to accommodate a scarcity of food and change of diet. They can easily be harmed by giving them the wrong type of food in the winter, so unless you have studied and understand their digestive system and are fully willing to commit to feeding them daily, please DO NOT attempt to feed deer.

Wisdom Lines

"You call them wrinkles, she calls them lines of wisdom." -- Chick Dee

 

Growing

Yum

This has been my go-to lunch the last few weeks - a flaxseed wrap with hummus (either roasted red pepper or garlic), with fresh tomatoes, a diced clove of garlic, and spring salad mix - all organic and so yummy!

Can't wait for it all to come from our garden. Patience is NOT a gardener's best friend when they have visions of sun-warmed, fresh off the vine tomatoes in their heads.

Growing, Growing, Still Here!

A few weeks ago, I wrote about starting my seedlings and wanted to post an update.

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly they grow. I've already done a first transplant on most of them, so in the course of just three weeks, the greenhouse is now pretty much maxed out with all kinds of tasty veggies including lots of tomatoes (4 varieties), spaghetti squash, sugar snap peas, basil, lettuce, spinach, zucchini, garlic, etc. We grow what we love to eat. I'm also going to try canning for the first time this year.

Like many other over-zealous gardeners, I've probably planted too much, but I've also gotten several requests from friends and family members for a plant here or there, so nothing will go to waste.








Now all I have to do is find garden soil! Since this is our first year in this house, I'm going to stick with container gardening until I can assess the soil and make sure it's safe.




In the meantime, I bought this bag of organic soil at Walmart and thought the bag was just so pretty that I saved it and will try to come up with an idea of what to do with it. Any ideas?

Music at the Market

What a pleasant surprise I got today when I went to the local supermarket. They had hired a 20+-piece Irish band to play tunes and to celebrate Saint Patty's Day! Folks stood around and listened to "Oh, Danny Boy" and "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" and for a short time, no one worried about rushing around or racing through the aisles. Everyone was in a particularly good mood and full of cheer. Speaking of cheer, there were a lot of Guinness 12-packs spotted in quite a few carts. Well done, Market Basket, well done!   

Chilly, but Not...

We woke up to a chilly morning inside and outside the house. The thermostats read 59 degrees though they were set for 68!

"Maybe we're just out of propane," said my wiser half.

"Not likely, we're on automatic delivery," I replied.

Living in New England, you learn that relying on just one source of heat can be problematic when something goes wrong, so like many others, we are blessed to have a backup heat source. I lit the pellet stove right away, went downstairs and saw that the power to the boiler was off. 

Any good troubleshooter knows the first thing you check is the power source, so I bundled up, grabbed my shovel, and trudged outside. All the melting and refreezing of the snow we've had makes the hill going down to the propane tanks a bit treacherous. And yes, we try to keep a path clear for the delivery folks, but the path is from the road, not from where I was coming from so it was a slippery slide. I used my shovel blade as an ice hold and slowly side-stepped down the way. Sure enough, both propane tanks were empty, proving my better half right (again). 

Good for the propane company for putting a sticker with their emergency number on the side of the tank. Even better that they have a 24x7 answering service. I received an immediate callback and was assured that someone would be out shortly both to refill the tanks and restart our pilots.

Within an hour, a very nice gal from the propane company had us back up and running again.

I'll attribute this little mishap to us being new owners of the house and the propane company underestimating our usage, but it's a good reminder of how blessed and fortunate we are to have heat in the first place when so many slept out in the cold last night. #GratefulForHeat

Deer Musical Chairs

It's pretty easy to tell who the "Lead Deer" is in this video captured on our game cam. Check out the action around 1:07. They are just amazingly social creatures who know how to work things out. 

Planting Time

 It was planting time here this weekend, despite the 7-inches of snow that appeared last night. Nothing gets me more excited than getting my hands back in dirt. Oh, that wonderful, organic, earthy smell of good potting soil.

I'm using all recyclables (except the seeds and soil -- only because I don't have an established garden here yet). I made seed starters from toilet paper rolls, which were okay, but my favorite little seed pots are recycled Keurig cups. I just pop off the aluminum top with a sharp knife, dump the coffee grinds and filter out into the kitchen compost bin, and give the pot a quick rinse. It sounds like a lot of work, but it's really quick to do. Not only are they the perfect size, but they have a hole punched in the bottom already for drainage from the machine.

My mini 4-shelf greenhouse seems to be staying warm enough because this morning I went to mist the plants and noticed that the lettuce has already begun to emerge.

This is the first round of plantings I've done for this season and I'm actually a little bit early for some of them. Call it either impatience or over-exuberance, but they're in! 

Little Chicks

Ventured over to our local Tractor Supply Store and discovered it was "Chick Days." Love checking out all the little babies and listening to their squeaky peeps. I pondered bringing some home, but we're not ready to commit to that. But I wonder what it would be like to have chickens? Do they require a lot of maintenance?

A Mother Deer's Work is Never Done

Mama is busy keeping her fawn clean. Good mama!