Cold Moon

I hadn't planned on photographing the moon this evening until I saw this full moon coming over the horizon. This is the thirteenth full moon of the year and known as the "Cold Moon". It is also know as the "Long Night Moon" (Mohican) as it rises during one of the “longest” nights of the year around the winter solstice.

After the Snow

The local wildlife was out today after the 2 inches of warm rain we received on Christmas Eve melted much of the 3 feet of snow we received the week before.

Neighborhood Deer

The sun came out today and so did some of the neighborhood deer.

Snow Removal

I was driving through the town of Nichols today and saw this super-sized snowblower cleaning the streets.

This snowblower cleaned the snow buildup from the edge of the road deposited it in peoples lawns.

This 400+ horsepower LaRue T60 machine made quick work of snow cleanup.

Looking for Food

Its been a couple of days since a Nor'easter dumped 3 feet of snow in the neighborhood. I'm starting to see deer out in the snow looking for food.

Snow Load

The snow from this storm was light and dry but too much for this shed used by Rome Township to store anti-skid.

Got Snow !!!

Over the past couple of years we've had little or no snow during the winter, this Nor'easter will make up for the prior lack of snowfall.

We were up early this morning to check out the snow and found this when we opened the garage door.

There's a big mound of snow where I park my truck. There is a truck in this snow. One cue is the dark object protruding from the snow; It's the driver's side mirror.

After a lot of digging we were able to find the truck door and an outline of the truck.

After more digging and using the rear bumper as a snow plow we were able to free the truck. Now I can drive to our barn and get the tractor and snowplow.

My skids of firewood on the patio under the deck.

The table on the deck.

31½ inches of snow. The National Weather Service in Binghamton had 40 inches and other people in this area were reporting 3 feet and more of snow. It looks like our area had the greatest amount of snow for all of PA.

Nor'easter

A Nor'easter storm started dropping snow here late yesterday afternoon. It's still dark and too early to see the "Winter Wonderland". The snow is still coming down and here's a quick photo taken at 6:30AM of the snow on a table on our deck.

For reference, here's what the deck looked like at 11:30PM last night.

Back From The Taxidermist

I got this buck a few years ago and finally got it back from the taxidermist.

The delay in getting this buck mounted was caused by a backward tine at the base of the right antler.

This backward tine had caused an open wound on the deer hide which required additional work to repair.

Lone Goose

With the overnight temperatures dropping below freezing, Miner's Pond has frozen over. As I drove by the pond today I found this lone goose walking along the edge of the pond. After taking a few photos from my truck I got out and was able to walk within 20 feet of the goose. I'm not sure if the goose was injured but its left wing was drooping. The goose eventually flew a short distance onto the frozen pond.

Drive Around the Property

Overnight we received a dusting of snow as cooler temperatures moved into the neighborhood. The cooler weather didn't deter the wildlife.

A small group of deer grazing in the grass along the road.

The fall turkey season is over and this flock of turkeys didn't pay too much attention to me.

Picking Corn

It was a throwback to farming 50 years ago to have this antique two-row corn picker in our corn field. A local farmer, with a need for cob corn, picked a few acres of our corn the old way.

So much for "old school" corn picking, time to bring in the "new school" corn picker.

This was a small, 7 acre, corn field and it only took a few minutes for this machine to pick the corn.

Done with our field and on to the neighboring field of corn.

The "Rut"

The whitetail deer's breeding season is now on. I found this buck bedded down in the grass as he watched two doe and works on a clever introduction to impress the girls and get a date.

Prepping for the Boys

I was driving around our cabin property today, looking for a few bucks to photograph. I found these two does prepping for date night.

First, the "sniff test".

Now work on the eyebrows.

A quick wash behind the ears.

"I'll wash your neck if you get mine"

"Almost done... Are the boys here yet?"

The Rut

The whitetail deer breeding season, known as the rut, is currently happening in our neighborhood. There was a warm rain falling all day and I found this buck during my daily drive around our property.

The buck was paying more attention to chasing other deer and didn't have any problems with me following him with my truck. This buck looked very stiff when it walked and then I discovered a large wound behind his shoulder. This injury may have happened during a fight with another buck.

Wildlife Activity

Matt and I went to our West Hill property last Thursday night to look for a "misplaced" arrow. Little did we know of the wildlife activity that was happening 200 yards from where we were looking.

The following is a series of photos taken by a game camera on our West Hill property road. (Timestamps are in the lower right of the photos. The exact time may be off by one hour due to daylight savings time change)

Photo of my truck passing the camera at 7:16PM as we drive in.

At 7:23PM this bear passes the same camera, walking in the same direction as the area we are looking in.

7:24PM a second bear walks past the camera. Based on their size, these may have been two of the cubs that I have photos of.

At 8:01PM this buck walks by the camera heading in our direction.

At 8:20PM a photo of my truck driving down the road.

Nice Day for a Stroll

It was another unusually warm November day, in the 70's, when I found this flock of turkeys out for a stroll at our cabin property.

Wildlife Predation and Scavengers

While driving around our cabin property last week I discovered the kill site of a young deer. It was obvious that the deer had been killed by a predator and I had some suspicions as to which one. I placed a game camera next to the kill site and confirmed a large coyote in the area.

This deer was too much of a meal for the coyote and other animals were more than happy to help cleanup the leftovers.

Most Turkey Vultures in this area have migrated south for the winter but this one was glad to help with the cleanup.

Several hawks have visited the site.

Crows and ravens are regular visitors.