August 18, 2013 Of Beavers and Men

I have been busy lately.  It's been a while since I have done a blog too!  Here's one of the extra things I have been doing.....watching beavers.  I have been watching beavers and monitoring some of the goings on by the crew that got the bid for the Flutereed Watershed Restoration Project. 
Now.....people all know, beavers can be a nuisance if they are in the wrong place engineering a project.  Why?  Because, they are usually pretty determined little animals once they start in.  This pair has two babies, that I have seen.  They are getting dynamited out of house and home and having their space continually invaded by men trying to evict them because they want to engineer a space on the river....in other words, modify something Mother Nature has been doing for years. 
All of these things going on in a trout stream rather bothers me and a few other people in the community.  If any other entitiy goes in and mucks about in a trout stream....the powers that be yell bloody murder.  Now, we have a guy.....who moved here from the cities.....lives at the bottom and over a bit from this stream....and, guess what!?  He doesn't like the muddy water every time it rains!  Well.....duh!  It and how many others on the shore.....have made muddy water that ran into  Lake Superior ever since I was a kid.  Nothing new about that!  However......he was determined to fix it. 
So....the Flutereed Watershed Partnership was formed.
Now......grants have been written and people are getting paid to fix the clay slump banks on the river.  Ok.....they are clay....the river runs through clay.....that isn't going to change.  However, they are trying to stop any further erosion on these banks.  So, a few of them are being fixed.....I hope, for all the money spent....they stay fixed!  Personally, I think all that money could have been better spent.

Trucks and equipment working in the river bottom of one of the clay slumps they have fixed.

There's piles of this stuff....lots more than shown here.....that is being put in the river to fix it!

Here is a shot showing a lot of the fixing that is being done.  Notice all the stuff layered in near the clay bank to hold it in place and keep it from eroding.

Here is the finished product of the first section they fixed.  I have lots of other photos but don't think I should post so many at a time to show all the process.

Here's what is left of the beaver's house after they blew it up all over the bridge and river.  The beavers have not started rebuilding a house yet.

Here is the river with the dam they are working to remove and the beaver's blown up house is on the bottom left of photo.
The beavers have been continually trying to rebuild their dam.  I see them eating or working each day when I stop.  One day, I was sitting on the bridge when a popple tree fell down.  I walked over to take a look and got several photos of the beaver trying to chew the rest of that tree off.  He got in every position manageable trying to get a better "chew" on his subject. 
Anyway....you see what a muddy mess they made when they mucked about trying to discourage the beavers.  Again....in a trout stream.  Where is the indignation!?  Such double standards in this county.  A special interest to fix Mother Nature  can make all the mess they want.  But, no one else better  touch that river!
I was there yesterday and the dam had been messed with again.  I didn't see any sign of any beavers.....at all....so, not sure what transpired there. 

Here is another shot of one of the adult beavers eating.  It was just minding its business and doing what beavers do.  There have been a lot of people watching these creatures on a regular basis now.  Too bad they have to be harassed for such a poor reason.  Fixing the river isn't a bad thing.....if it works, I suppose.  However, this is just a few spots on a river that is clay.  It isn't going to stop the river from running brown every time it rains.  Hopefully, with all the work and thought that has gone in to this, Mother Nature doesn't just wash it all out down the river.  It has washed out some mighty big projects on this river before.  Time will tell, I guess. 
The only thing I can say is if it doesn't work.....all the old timers say it won't.......Mother Nature will have the last laugh when it ends up where it does. 
Construction techniques have changed a lot.....let's hope all this money was "well-spent!"

Just for fun! July 18, 2013

Some times.......you gotta do it......just because.
Well, yesterday morning, when we did have some sun.......for a while.......I was scratching Toby's ears and checking for the ever present ticks.....and noticed that on the wall.  Well, there is absolutely nothing I can think of I can do with this photo.....yet, anyway!   But, I thought the shadow was so striking I had to take it. 
No shadows today.....just rain...and fog.....and more rain......and more fog.  Wow!  For the first time ever, my basement floor is sweating so bad, I went online and ordered a de-humidifier.  If the weather continues like it has been, it will get some serious use when it arrives. 
Today, there have been deer playing outside all morning....plus lots of twins.  No matter which window I look out of, deer are playing or laying under the big spruce trying to avoid getting soaked by all the rain.  Pretty neat!  And....the fawns can really play now.....or just jump in the air....just because. 

Here's a particularly cute one of Shadow's twins....discovering they are being watched. 
The garden is at the point it is producing food to eat now.  Very limited quantities yet....but, the first tastes of fresh vegies are always the best!
One thing I will say for all our moisture.....it's been a while since everything was so lush and green. 
When we hear about the nasty fires out west.....we can appreciate this aspect of what rain does.

July 13, 2013 A what to do day.......in the summer, even!

While I am trying to decide what I should do with today, I will show you what I did yesterday afternoon.  I have been out with my DR Field and Brush mower doing trails now...it's marginally ok for mowing, but still pretty wet in areas.  As I have been walking along behind the mower, I have been seeing all these nice wild strawberries this year.....too nice to leave just growing there!  Oh, I have picked handfuls to eat along the way while mowing; but, yesterday, after mowing yet some more trails, I went home and got a bucket.  This is a Schwans ice cream bucket.  Those berries are so big and juicy with all this rain we are having........yum, wonderful!
Of course, picking strawberries means you are getting right down in the middle of everything......which means......ticks!  I picked about the 4th strawberry and a tick came crawling up my berry picking finger!  Sheesh...that didn't take long.  I had them in a few other places by the time I got home.  Toby had quite a few more.  Luckily his newest appication of Advantix has kicked in.  I didn't get any ticks on me the past few days while mowing in that tall grass.  I still have a few miles to go so I hope that continues.  But, I can't get to some of those places yet because it is too wet. 
Heavily grey and overcast.  I didn't see much on the radar as far as imminent rain.....but, it would be nice if a little sun came out on the area to make all the Art Fairs on the shore more appealing today.  We put so much in to these endeavors, it would be nice if Mother Nature would cooperate too.
It won't be long, now, til we get to start sampling out of our gardens too.  Between building new beds to add to the fenced in area, more fence, more dirt hauled to fill them, etc.....they got started a bit later than usual.  It was so cool and damp early on, some stuff probably wouldn't have germinated anyway.
All my deer friends are being busy out here these days too.  The critters always give us something to smile or chuckle about.  When Toby and I were out for a walk this morning, one of the does and her fawn was playing in the ditch and splashing around.  Ample water for that.  Deer do love to play in the water.  Then, there are the antics between the deer trying to get a bite out of "her" bucket when the chipmunk crawls in and sits in the middle and stuffs its little face.  Deer looked at it sooo hard, ears back, head trying to go in the bucket.....but couldn't quite do that what with that little varmint in there.....and finally paws the bucket a few times with her hoof until chipmunk jumped out!  Yup...cute!

I will leave you with a photo of a fawn playing "chase" games......   :)

Summer of bugs!?..... July 10, 2013

Here is a photo my  husband took yesterday morning while I was working on Hovland Arts Festival paperwork and writing checks to all the vendors for their credit card sales.   The deer were really busy out in the yard.  There were several does out there with their fawns, two sets of twins in the bunch.  So darned cute to watch....you almost forget to pay attention to what you're doing.   The fawns, of course, were having a wonderful time running and chasing and just being "kids."  The moms, however, were beside themselves.....since, they don't yet like anyone else by their kids.  Interesting to watch, for sure.  Zoe is still managing to find someones fawns to babysit on occasion.  So.....now and then, I guess it's ok. 
I am guessing yesterday morning, the reason so many were there at a time, was bugs!  They were terrible .....what with no breeze out there at all. 
This afternoon, Toby and I found it out....so did the deer.....even with a good breeze....that the deer flies were simply awful.  Jeez, Louise......I like to had a fit.  Toby didn't even want to be outside they were so bad.  I was watching Shadow's yearling buck.....with his cute little velvet spikes......out here stomping and having a fit!  He finally went tearing off, trying to lose some of those darned deer flies. 
Then, Shadow came out of the woods on a fast trot.  She was heading for the basement door........so, I knew it was treat time.  She was just covered with deer flies.  I brushed and squashed them off of her by the handfuls.  I think she appreciated it.  But, the other deer aren't lucky enough to have that option.  I really feel sorry for the critters having to put up with those dratted bugs this time of year when they get so bad.  Trouble is....if it keeps on with the rain at the rate it's been coming down......we will probably have bugs til frost.  Not particularly a nice thought.  Hopefully, the deer flies soon are done.  I don't know enough about their cycle or what makes them "buzz!"
I have been really busy just recently too.  With the Hovland Arts Festival work just about done with for another year.....I will have a bit more time to do this again.  I should have the bills all paid by tomorrow, I think.  Then, I will know how much is left over to pay the musicians. 
We had a just amazing turnout this year.  Saturday was so busy, I couldn't believe it.  They ran out of  food at the church and had to go for more.  I guess, when you are fund raising, that isn't a bad thing.  But, the people were amazing and from all over.  Several southern states were represented.  I talked to people from California.  There were, of course, Canadians.  It was a wonderful day and event.  But then too, we had a lot of amazing artists this year, several of which are professional, year round  artists.  Hovland does have talent!
I have started mowing my trails now.  I made a couple of trips around one of the circles today.  It is so wet in many places, it is a pain.  However, if I am going to wait for it to dry up, I may never get it done.  I haven't had the chipper out there, as planned, since I would cut the trail all up trying to get that heavy thing back there.  I have hopes August will cooperate a bit, anyway. 
The garden is coming along nicely.  It shouldn't be too long until we can start sampling.  I have been nibbling wild strawberries on my walks now.....yummm.....
I had another pleasant surprise in my emails today when the moose biologist emailed me and asked to use my moose photo with the ticks again.  I guess that photo is really popular.  I think I posted one of them some time back...probably the one with me in it.  This one, however, is just showing the almost one year old moose laying there, half bald and covered with ticks.  It most certainly make one feel bad to see a critter in this shape.  It is another one of those photos, that when I took it, I had no idea it would become so popular.  I most certainly never expected a professional publication to post it in their book.  So.......I guess one never knows.  The biologist told me he has seen it a number of places as it is one of the best representations around of a sick moose while still alive...showing the issues. 
I just hope, somewhere down the road, they find out what is killing them.  I miss seeing all the  moose around here that we used to have. 
I'll end with a photo of one of the growing fawns.  They are growing fast now....and so darned cute to watch when they are playing. 
Then......for me......back to business as usual until another big project or festival comes up!  :)

June 26, 2013 Summer is here!

The thunder storms are rolling through this afternoon.  I kind of expected that to happen sooner or later, now that it warmed up and is giving us summer temps.  Yesterday was 84 degrees.  Hot!  I was on the shore for about an hour and a half and it was  56 degrees down there.  That is a drastic change in temperature.  I'm used to having 10 degrees worth of difference...or there-abouts.....but, wow!  That gets ones' attention.
Our gardens, with the new spaces, are ready for business.  They are fenced.  I quite frequently see Shadow or Zoe and their kids moseying around the fence, nibbling.  A few of them know what tasty morsels they got to help themselves to after the frosts last year.  They are probably keeping a close eye on that situation for the coming season.
Plants are coming along nicely, in the beds, that were started early.  A lot of the seeds planted directly into the beds are up now too.  I can't wait for the fresh vegies to start happening.

The deer are now bringing the fawns to the yard to play on a more regular basis.  There is a plus to this....mom can nibble and still see what those romping, charging kids are doing.  That doesn't happen in the woods this time of the year.  Growth is lush and you can't see very darned far. 
Yesterday morning, I was just finishing with my weekly orchid maintenance after breakfast....putting the last liner with an orchid in back in its pot, when my husband lets go that there's a $#@*& bear out there.  I guess it was about 200 pounds.  I never did see it.  It was just out of my vision where the pot was.   He was running out to get Toby and I was running for the camera and out on the deck......but, it was gone!  Usually, the bears aren't gone that fast out here.  I prowled around for a few minutes and decided there wasn't going to be a photo.  As long as I was out though, I decided to water the hanging pots.  About that time, northwest of the house, a fawn started bawling, which didn't last very long.  I though oh-oh!  That don't sound good.  Bear just in the vicinity looking for a meal.....not good at all.  The does had been spending quite a bit of time in the yard already this a.m., which I thought was strange.  Usually, this time of year, there isn't quite that much action at once.  Above doe had been out there with her twins.  Several other named does had been out there without theirs.  Sooo.......hmmmm.
Well, I have seen this doe with her kids several times since the bear was here.  Shadow has been out here with her twins.....in fact, she was out here a few minutes ago.  Zoe, however, has not had her fawn with her since the incident....not yesterday.....or today.  And....she has had that fawn out here a lot. 

Here she is, this afternoon, just before the storm hit.  She had been laying there for well over an hour, which is a spot right outside the window, close by the house.  That is fine if she wants to lay there.  Deer do it all the time.  However, it seems a long time when you have a fawn to be concerned about.  So, I guess time will tell if she needed a break...or if she lost her fawn once again to wolves or bears.  She lost her last years fawn to the wolves.  She lost her first fawn when she was two years old to a wolf or bear also.  She is just over 6 years old.  So, this girl hasn't got a real good track record.  But....she has really been hanging close this year  .....which is why we have seen so much of her fawn. 
Shadow, on the other hand, has raised all of her fawns to adulthood....so far.  Knock on wood!  She is also six years old this spring. 

Here is a photo from a few days ago I took of Zoe and her fawn.  I wanted to show the big scar on her side from when she was two years old and had the whole hide ripped off her side.....from front shoulder to hip.  The hide hung by her hip a while and finally fell off.  She had her whole side showing bare red meat to the elements all summer while that was healing.  It wasn't pretty and the flies chewed the heck out of her.  But, it healed nicely.  The scar, this much later, is very visible. 
Nature isn't always pretty, for sure.  But, survival of the fittest.  I guess she is tough.  I had wondered at the time if she would survive that.  I have seen, in winters past, some deer come through here with big chunks out of their hide and meat taken off their rumps.  They live.  It heals.  It is pretty amazing.  I have learned a lot watching these specific deer these years up here.....and what they can take.
Well, the storm seems to have ended.  There are still clouds around but not so dark.  I will leave you with one more storm cloud....I always think they are neat to look at. 

June 17, 2013 Hmmmmm.......

Yesterday was the big family get together at Tom Lake.  It was Father's Day and my dad's 82nd birthday.  Two of my brother's boys have birthdays this week too.....plus a few others....so, it was kind of a big party day.  Mostly, tho....since it was actually the day....it was about my dad.  We all made it there and we all had a good time.  With the weather we have been having this year, and as you can see by looking above, the weather wasn't being real predictable.  We have had warm days...yes.  But, then we turn around and have cold days.  It was 45 degrees for quite a while this morning again.  So...maybe it's my age.....I don't know......but, I didn't feel inclined to bring my paddleboard along to the lake yesterday.  I was pretty sure the water would still be cold.  It was.  And.....first day out for the year on the paddleboard.....with my almost 100 pound dog on......with wind.......are you getting a picture here.......I didn't particularly want to take a dunk in the lake.  When the sun came out, it would be 75 degrees.  But, when too many clouds came over, it cooled in a hurry.  Actually, it was comfortable when it cooled.  But, the breezes kept the bugs from eating us alive.

My niece, on the other hand, took her dog out on her mom's paddleboard.  That board is a fair amount bigger than mine and more stable.  Dog is also half the size.  She's a small female lab that isn't overweight.  But....you saw a lot less of the swim suits yesterday....compared to normal for this time of year.  But, next trip up, I will definitely have my board.  Toby loves to ride it.
Yesterday.....I guess we were all living right, or something.  My one brother took his motorcycle across from where he lives by way of the back roads.  My sister and her husband came up on their new side by side ATV.  We were all thinking about rain.  However, during the whole part of the day when the activities were happening, the rain storms, thunder and lightening, all split and went around us.  Given the way it looked a number of times, that was pretty amazing.  I left right after 4 p.m. thinking I would beat it out of there before it hit.  Last year I drove out of there in one of those storms when it poured so hard you could barely see to drive. I did drive over to the official boat access to take the photograph on the top of this, just because of the view....looking down the whole lake.  But, I did actually get back out to the main road before the down pour began.  Then, it really came down.
I did hear that they didn't quite get the jetski loaded in time to beat the rain.  But.....all else was good!

One more view down the lake just after 4 o'clock in the afternoon. 

Fog rolling into the valley after the storm went over.  It didn't take long to not be able to see anything.

Here's a fun photo to leave you with.  This is Zoe's fawn, out exploring the world.....driving her mama crazy....not that she can run around and explore.  The little squirt can move these days.  :)
Now, back to working on my Hovland Arts Festival details before that happens July 6 & 7.

June 8, 2013 Adventures are where you find them........

Yesterday, being it was such a beautiful day, I decided to take the long way to town to do my errands.  Lately, with the high price of gasoline, I go every other week.  I loaded recycling and Toby, camera gear....and left.   We got about a mile from the house when I thought I saw a grouse in the middle of the road....hurt, or what!?  Well, our county road tends to get these little mud/clay plops that come out of the middle in spring while road restrictions are on.  This one was drying out, finally, and the grouse was dusting on it.  It was on its side...just busy.  I drove right along side of it and looked down, out my window, at it.  Then, it finally got up and walked off the road.  Completely in the shade, brown bird on a dirt road....didn't even bother trying a photo.
Got going up the trail. I was slowing down by a beaver pond to watch for a moose.  Just up the road, a deer was standing.  OK.  I  slowly drove toward her, thinking maybe there were fawns.  She proceeded to run up the road in front of me.  Hmmm.  Didn't see wolves of fawns. Still....she ran up the road at 10-12 mph ahead of me for a good mile and then turned off on a forestry road.  What the heck....never had that happen before.  There were plenty of nice places she could have gotten off the road.  Oh yes, when I first started following the deer, a rabbit came tearing out of the woods and ran in front of me too! 
I got to my turn off and started across to the next leg of the trip.  Just when I was slowing to stop by the little lake, I saw a cow moose standing between the road and the beaver dam.  Well, she was in to the woods before I could even stop, what's more pick up the camera.  I stopped,  opened the window and listened.  She was in the woods there....but, I couldn't see her.  I took a photo of the lake with its nice reflections.  I was pretty focused on watching to see whether she would show herself again or if she had calves.  All of a sudden, I saw a moose swimming across the lake from the island to the shore she was on, only a lot farther down the lake.  I  grabbed my 400 mm lens to put on but  wasn't sure I could do it that fast.  That moose was moving!  So, I just used the 18-200 lens I had on and took this.   The bull hit shore and off in to the woods....never saw it again either.  So far, my adventure is being productive in seeing things, anyway.....even if I am not properly prepared!  I thought I was.  I  always put the lens on the camera I think I am most likely to be needing while driving and possibly getting a quick shot.  Well......doesn't always work that way.

This is from the day before.  I was out for a walk on the way home from getting mail.  Toby and I generally stop at someplace along the shore and he gets an adventure and maybe a swim.  Well, it was a grey day, again.  It was trying to sprinkle a bit of rain.  I had done several neat photos here the day before and I knew there was nothing new to be seen in one day.  So....I left my camera in the truck.  We had done the beach route and were coming back up the trail from the kayak campground that goes back to the parking lot.  All of a sudden the deer jumped off the trail and into the woods.  Ok....I see deer there now and then.  I get a couple more steps around the corner.....there are twin fawns standing in the trail....side by side...maybe knee high.  They were so darned cute.  And.....remember where my camera is!?

Here is a photo of the other twin.  I got up to where I had seen them....mind you, I had put Toby on his leash I always carry just for this reason, wondering where they had disappeared to....they were both laying in the grass, right off the trail.  You notice the alder clipped there where they minimally maintain road and power line here.....  They never moved a muscle or looked at me.  Well, I want to tell you that was the quickest return trip to the truck Toby and I ever made.  I put him in, grabbed the camera and hoofed it back there...hoping they hadn't moved.  They hadn't.  I took a half dozen shots and left.  Oh....so cute at that stage.  I see so many deer on a daily basis.....I forget how small they are right now.  At home, none of "my" girls have come to show off their babies yet. 
I made up my mind right then and there.....no more leaving the camera.....just because!  Sheesh....but that is irritating.  Of course....given I always will carry the camera now.....I won't see as much....right! 
Anyway, the main thing is, I get to see some of this stuff.  I can't tell you how many times, over the years, I have see really neat stuff...and, no camera.  It is still very vivid in my memory because of what the incident was.  That is special. 
Well, was going to leave you with one final shot of Shadow, my pet deer, standing in the cherry blossoms.  My internet connection won't upload it right now.  So, we will see if this will post and I will continue on this another time.  :)