Wildflower - Beardtongue

From a distance, the wildflower Beardtongue (Penstamon digitalis) looks like just another white wildflower. A closer look of this 1 inch long tubular flower will show fine lines of violet, which function as nectar guides to visiting insects. There is no floral scent to the flower. The Beardtongue flowers are named for the tuft of hairs on one of the stamens that lies on the bottom of the inside of the tubular flower, and looks a bit like a hairy tongue.



Beardtongue is native to the northeast and can grow to 3 or 4 feet tall.

Another Fawn Encounter

It's getting to be a daily occurrence of encountering a fawn while I'm driving one of my farm tractors. Today I was driving the newer (but still old) John Deere 1050 tractor. I'm not sure if this is the same fawn as I photographed the day before, but the two sighting were in the same area of the cabin driveway. Maybe this fawn likes old John Deere tractors.

Fawn Encounter

I'm putting in some wildlife plots and while I was making one of many trips from our cabin property to the barn on my old John Deere tractor, I spotted this fawn standing in the tall grass next to the cabin driveway.



I stopped the tractor to take some photos of the fawn and it continued to move closer to me. The fawn stopped within 15 feet of me in some tall goldenrod ...



The fawn soon changed direction and headed for the brush.

My Chipmunk Friend

Over the past week I have acquired a new friend at our barn, a chipmunk. This little guy will come within a couple of feet to watch me work on equipment. I was working on a new piece of equipment in the "courtyard" area when I started to hear a gnawing sound. The chipmunk was perched 4 feet away on the wall and eating something as he watched.



He's now eating out of my hand.



It looks like he lost the tip of his tail in the past week.



He may be small, but he can stuff his cheeks with corn.



Back for more corn.

Wildflower - Multiflora Rose

The multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora) is in bloom in our neighborhood, but the sweet fragrance of the masses of flowers mask the fiendish nature of this plant. The multiflora rose is native to Japan and Korea and was introduced in the U.S. as a "living fence". The characteristics that make it a good fence also make this invasive plant hard to control.



Unlike most other members of the rose family, the multiflora rose creates clusters of multiple flowers on each branch and the multiple flowers then create massive amounts of seed pods known as "rose hips". These rose hips are a sweet food source for wildlife which spread the seed and propagate the plant.



The multiflora rose plants are invasive and grow rapidly to take over fields and hedgerows. Here's a photo of a multiflora rose bush that is at least 20 feet high and and has enveloped a couple of trees.

Eastern Painted Turtle

I had just finished working on a wildlife food plot on our cabin property and noticed this Eastern Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta) in the lawn. I often find turtles laying eggs in the lawn this time of year. This turtle must have finished laying the eggs and was taking a rest. There were several flies on the turtle's shell but I don't think the flies were having any luck penetrating the shell.



Some close-up views of the turtle:

Woodchucks

I was out walking through the tall grass around our cabin looking for newborn fawns when I walked upon this young woodchuck. This little guy appeared to be stunned and didn't move as I walked within 3 feet and took about 10 photos before it moved into the thick grass.

Snails and Slugs

The weather turned cold and damp overnight and as I walked along a farm road behind our barn I noticed hundreds and hundreds of small snails in the lawnmower clippings along the road.



These snails were only 1/2 inches long and all over the old lawnmower clippings.



One good thing about photographing snails, they don't move fast.



Both snails and slugs are classified as gastropods and love to eat flowers and vegetable gardens. One of the main differences between snails and slugs is the external shell on snails.



I did find some slugs but they were outnumbered by the snails at about 50 snails to each slug.

Fawn Hunting Success

I started today's fawn hunt by returning to yesterday's "hot-spot" near our cabin, but it looks like the fawns have found a new spot to hide. I was heading down the cabin driveway when I noticed a doe standing in some overgrown grass. As I approached the doe with my truck it quickly headed for the brush but I continued to see some movement in the tall grass. I stopped and watch the area and could see a small fawn slowly walk into a small clump of brush. I found the little guy in the center of the clump.



After a few minutes of inching closer for a better photo the fawn bolted from the brush and then walked slowly through the tall grass and bedded down about 25 yards from where it started. This time the fawn was in a more open area and I could get some better photo.



The fawn kept track of my location and soon let out a "bleat" and headed in the direction of its mother. I had got my photos and returned to my truck.

Hunting for Fawns

Judy Garland is attributed to the saying "The things you see when you don't have a gun"; In my case it was "The things I see when I don't have a camera". I was meeting with a pipeline construction crew at our cabin property when fawn approached within 30 feet of us, stopped and let out a "bleat" sound. I normally would have my camera in hand, but had left it in my truck. I slowly walked to my truck as the fawn watched and as soon as I got the camera, the fawn ran off... No pictures.

I returned a couple of hours later and started searching in the tall grass where I had last seen the fawn. Within 5 minutes I found this little guy in the thick grass. I took a few photos of the fawn but as I repositioned for a better camera angle the fawn ran into the brush.



Most deer give birth to two fawns so I continued my search in the area and within a few minutes I found fawn number 2 in more thick grass.



Knowing the fawn would most likely bolt from its "nest" in the grass, I set my camera for continuous shooting (just hold the button and it keeps shooting). The fawn took off as predicted and I was able to get this shot of the fawn as it made its get-away.

Wildflower - Dame's Rocket

I started to notice patches of Dame's Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) springing up in the neighborhood. Dame's Rocket can form large patches of pale lavender, deep purple and white blossoms that look pretty along a roadside. This invasive wildflower that is native to Eurasia can quickly force out other plants. This patch of Dame's Rocket has taken over my stockpile of topsoil behind our barn.



A close-up view of the flowers.



It is considered an invasive species in some areas; four U.S. states have set the following legal status for it:

• Colorado: noxious weed (on B-list), with plans for eradication or management varying by area and year
• Connecticut: invasive and banned, e.g. illegal to move, sell, purchase, transplant, cultivate, or distribute
• Massachusetts: prohibited
• Wisconsin: Restricted - an invasive species that is already established in the state and cause or have the potential to cause significant environmental or economic harm or harm to human health.

Individual plants can be pulled by hand if soil is moist, but the entire root system must be removed or re-sprouting may occur. Systemic herbicides, such as Roundup® (Glyphosate), can be used to kill the entire plant including the roots.

New Fawn

I haven't had too much luck getting photos of this year's new fawns until this evening. I was driving around the cabin property this evening and caught a doe nursing a fawn at the edge of the lawn. The doe walked off and the fawn walked into the nearby brush. I thought the fawn may bed down and hide, but it just stood at the edge of the brush. I was only able to get two photos before the little guy ran off. The fawn must be at least a week old.

Turf War ???

I was driving around our cabin property this evening watching deer and hoping to see some new fawns. I stopped to watch a doe with one of last year's fawns grazing in the new grass as a third doe approached (in the background).



This looked like a casual meeting of deer until the first doe turned around and let out a very loud snort. At this point the two deer faced each other and both had their ears folded back. As their eyes were locked on each other I could see all the hair on the two deer were standing on end ...



All of a sudden both deer were on their hind legs and the front feet were flying ...



The fight continued for 10 to 15 seconds and then they separated and slowly walked away from each other. The does are giving birth to this year's fawns and it is clear to see the swollen utter on the one doe. This may have been a turf war between the deer for the birthing area.

Wildflower - Common Fleabane

I found a couple clumps of Common Fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus) growing in a wildlife food plot behind our barn.



Also know as Philadelphia Fleabane, this small member of the aster (Asteraceae) family is native to North America and has flowerheads that are 1/2 to 3/4 inch across, with 100 or more pink to white thread-like ray flowers (petals) and a yellow center disk.



The flowers are just larger than a honey bee.

Chipmunks

While working around the old milkhouse at our barn I acquired a couple of new friends. Some young chipmunks are living in the milkhouse and don't seem to mind having me around.



To phase it correctly, the chipmunks like me when I feed them corn.



Within the past two days I've been able to get within 2 feet of them.