More Evidence of Backyard Bambi's

Every night lately we've been seeing at least 5 deer in the backyard (a doe and 4 fawns). They've been munching apples and chowing down on corn. We can turn the backyard light on and even shine a spotlight on them and they just continue to go about their deer-y business. Last night during a Law & Order commercial break, Mr. Johnson went to the back door to see if there were any deer out there. He was gone a long time and when he finally came back, he whispered to me that there were deer laying down in the backyard. "Why is he whispering?" I wondered, and when I went with him to take a look I caught myself whispering too. Sure enough--there were at least 2 deer, just laying on the grass about 20-25 yards out the back door. We could only see the 2 with the spotlight, but when I checked the grass this morning, I found a couple more spots where the grass had been mashed down from them laying on it. Here's one of the spots.......

We've gotten used to seeing lots of hoofprints and poop - the main evidence left behind from their visits. This birdfeeder is one of their favorite snack stops. See all the hoofprints in the dirt below? This feeder tray is right at the perfect height for a deer's mouth, so they can just stand there and munch till all the seed is gone.

In my little aspen grove, the small bucks have been leaving their antler rub marks on the small trees too.

I don't get too excited about little rubs like this because little trees = little bucks. Now if I were to find a 7 or 8 inch tree that's been worked by a buck, that would be pretty exciting. Perhaps even warrant the placement of a deer stand in the backyard!

Seen any deer in your backyard lately??

Knitted Mitten Class

Yesterday (Saturday) was the first of two classes I'm teaching for learning to knit mittens using 4 double-pointed needles. The pattern we were using for this class would enable the knitter to make a mitten custom-sized for their hand and using any weight of yarn, consequently it was necessary to knit a gauge swatch before the students could even start their mitten. After asking the yarn shoppe owner to find out from the students whether they would need extra help with knitting a gauge swatch or using double-pointed needles, I volunteered to come to class an hour early to help the students who were also willing to come in early.

There was a total of 4 students and I was really pleased to see young Megan in the class (who had learned to knit from her mom). I think she was about the same age as I was when I learned to knit.

I can't remember how many years ago I learned to knit on double-pointed needles, but the ladies in this class did an excellent job learning something new. For any readers who are knitters, you may recall how awkward it was the first time you learned to handle 4 needles and knitting in a circle vs. knitting back and forth on 2 needles. It's not easy and you can probably sense that by the intense concentration my students are showing to their knitting project.

We didn't get quite as far as I'd hoped for the first class, but we'll start a half-hour early again next Saturday. My hope is that the students will be able to complete their first mitten next week and feel comfortable enough with their new knitting knowledge to go home and finish the second mitten on their own.

The View from My Deer Stand - Part 2

Spent another deerless afternoon in the woods today, but I'm not complaining because the outside temp was almost 60 degrees! Pretty unusual for early November and it got me to thinking about some previous deer hunting seasons where there was about a foot of snow on the ground and temps in the teens.

Here's the hill I walk down from the cornfield to get to today's deer stand. Pretty, isn't it? There are always lots of birds in this area because it's much more wooded than the stand I was sitting on yesterday.

This stand is a permanent stand (meaning we don't take it down every year). I built this stand myself 2 years ago. Are you impressed? I was. Mr. Johnson had chosen the tree and I was in charge of the design. I did my drawing of how I thought the stand should be built, took the measurements, and then cut all the wood at home. We carried all the pieces out to the woods and then I built the stand. Amazingly enough, all the pieces fit correctly and the stand turned out exactly as I had envisioned it. I love this stand! It's big enough to set up this little stool and today I was even able to curl up on the floor and take a little nap! (Nope, I'm definitely not a hardcore deer hunter, am I?)

The warm weather has brought out a new hatch of insects. I watched this little stink bug walking up one of the tree trunks.

Of course, there are always several of these pesty little bushy tails wreaking havoc in the woods. I'm always amazed at how much noise such a small animal can make. But on a slow deer hunting day, their antics are always amusing.

Have a good weekend everyone!

The View from My Deer Stand

Well, after a gentle nudge from my dear old Mom (who's experiencing some blog deprivation symptoms) I will be making an effort to become a little more proactive in my blog posts again.

Amazingly enough, I don't think I've even taken any photos in the last 2 weeks. I think that's the longest I've gone without taking a picture since I started this blog! Between work, deer hunting and knitting, it doesn't seem like I've had time to pay much attention to other stuff going on around here. Oh, there are plenty of birds -- flocks of cedar waxwings in the backyard -- but I've been negligent about carrying the camera along with me when I'm outside.

So this afternoon, while sitting on the deer stand, I realized here was a perfect photo opportunity right in front of me! So, here's a view from the deer stand I was sitting in this afternoon. Do you see any deer? Nope, I didn't either! That's because all you can see in almost any direction is corn, corn, and more corn, and that's where the deer are hiding out.
Minnesota's firearms deer opener is this Saturday (Nov. 7th). For as many years as we've been bowhunting, we always have at least one deer in the freezer by this time. This year has been a tough one as October brought us nearly record setting moisture in the forms of rain and snow. Needless to say, the farmers are the ones most negatively affected by this weather and the harvest has barely begun -- especially for corn.

Mr. Johnson is getting seriously frustrated by the lack of deer we've been seeing. Fortunately he has plenty of vacation time and he subscribes to the philosophy that "a bad day of hunting is better than a good day at work!" I, on the other hand, have no paid time off, so my hunting times are limited to afternoons and weekends (as long as the weather's nice).

I'll be staying out of the woods the next couple weekends because those gun hunters scare me and I'm looking forward to teaching a couple knitting classes -- mittens! Watch for a future blog post on that!

Greetings from the Neglectful Blogger

Sorry, I've been kind a neglectful blogger lately! For some strange reason, I really thought I'd have more time for blogging once the lawn mowing and garden tending chores were done for the season, but things haven't turned out that way. Deer hunting seems to be taking up quite a bit of the weekend time, and knitting to keep my Etsy store restocked is keeping me busy indoors. But, I decided to put off housework a little while longer by editing some of the photos that have been in my camera for weeks and getting this blog post ready today (actually anything that delays housework is a good thing -- at least for me!)

Our deer have been quite busy in the backyard lately. With all the rain and snow we've been having, their tracks are quite evident and also the fact that the corn trays are emptied nearly every night. I put a couple of the trail cameras in strategic locations and here's a few shots from last week. This one is my fave! I wonder what they're looking at? Could be the gray fox or maybe the possum I saw again Friday night for the first time since last spring.

I like the trail cameras because they tell us what time the deer are showing up. The other morning there was a nice big doe here at 4 AM when I took Sophie out. I always keep her on the leash now (since the skunk incident), but that doe didn't even run away when Sophie started barking at her. We walked within about 18 yards of her and she finally ran.

This little buck was a complete surprise! We're rapidly approaching the deer's first "rut" season (this year it will coincide with the full moon in the first week of November). I'll have to put the cameras on again next week to see what other interesting pictures we get.

By now, most of you have probably heard we had a little snowstorm last week. Here's what it looked like out my backdoor on Friday afternoon. This was completely unexpected!

We ended up with 4.1 inches of snow! This broke the previous record set in 1910! It was awful wet and sticky snow--great for snowmen but pretty horrible for driving in. We saw quite a few cars in the ditch on the way home from work. Thankfully it was all melted by Saturday afternoon. (I'm really glad I finally got my carrots dug up earlier this week.)

This little song sparrow was right outside my back door looking for seeds on that snowy Friday. They're usually the first migrant sparrow to show up in my backyard in the spring, but I almost never see them -- especially this close to the house. I checked my migration chart and it said they usually head south around the 3rd week of October. I bet this guy was wishing he'd left last week instead!

The end of fall also marks the time when pocket gophers are extra busy digging new holes before the ground freezes for winter. Mr. Johnson has been busy trapping them again lately and it looks like this particular pocket gopher decided to get his revenge by digging in my weedy perennial beds right next to the house! Grrrrrr! I hope it dries out in a couple days so I can get this mess cleaned up before winter.

On my way to a medical appointment a few weeks ago, I happened to spot these lovely cattle on a little farm not far from here. I didn't have the camera with me, but was on the same road a few days later and stopped the car to get out and take some pictures. In this area where Holsteins, black Angus, and red & white Herefords are the norm, these cattle are definitely a unique sight. I love that face!

They are White Park Cattle (I had to google that!) These guys were all napping in the pasture on this fine sunny afternoon, but as soon as I parked the car and started walking up to the fence, they all got up and trotted over to investigate me. I resisted putting my hand out for them to get a sniff (even though I really wanted to). I just thought they were cute and unique and wanted to share these photos with you.
Have a good week everyone!

Have you read this book yet?

Are you a Birdwatcher's Digest subscriber? If so, perhaps you read Julie Zickefoose's recent review of the book "Life List" by Olivia Gentile. After reading Julie's review, I was able to borrow this book from my local public library.

This is an amazing story about Phoebe Snetsinger, a phenomonal birder with a life list obsession. It's an extremely well-written story and captured my attention from start to finish. Without giving away any details, I believe this story may be especially appealing to any woman who is a birder, a mother, a wife, or has any particular hobby or interest that you've ever become even marginally obsessive about.

After finishing the book I couldn't decide whether I was glad that I don't have any obsessions like this (bordering on mental illness, in my opinion) or whether I am a lazy underachiever for not pursuing anything in my life with more single-mindedness!

If you get a chance to read the book, let me know what you think about it.

You Know You're From Minnesota.....

You Know You're From Minnesota When......

......Weather is 80% of your conversation
is it any wonder when we have weather like this?

......You keep snow tires on your truck all year because it ain't worth it taking them off for only 4 months!
and that's a darn good thing today!

This photo of my front yard was taken at 11 AM TODAY (October 12, 2009). I think I'll use it for my Christmas card this year!

......You have gone trick-or-treating in 3 feet of snow
only 3 more weeks till Halloween and I think it's gonna be one of those years!

......You laugh every time you hear about a blizzard shutting down the entire East Coast
I think this weather system is heading northeast and I promise not to laugh too hard


.......You know what "uff-da" means and how to use it properly
yup, that's exactly what I said when I looked at green leaves covered with snow: "uff-da!"

......You own an icehouse, a snowmobile and a 4-wheel drive vehicle
I don't even have to explain this one do I?

......You have ever worn shorts and a parka at the same time
I know if I went to the mall today, I'd see people in this attire

......You can name both of the seasons: Winter and Road Construction
Thank goodness, at least this means road construction season is finally over!!

......You actually "get" these jokes and pass them on to your other friends from Minnesota
and to all my friends not from Minnesota, hopefully this explains what makes us proud Minn-e-sodans!


Merry Christmas!