Wood Turtle

Another 0.40 inches of rain last night and while I was checking my wildlife food plot I found this Wood Turtle at the edge of the field. This is only the second wood turtle I've ever found and the wood turtle is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List (http://www.iucnredlist.org).



The age of a wood turtle can be estimated by counting the growth rings and grooves known as ‘annuli’ that mark its shell. This turtle is about 18 to 20 years old.



Unlike snapping turtles which are very aggressive, the wood turtle is very docile and known to be great pets. The wood turtle is legally protected by all the states and provinces where it lives, and is totally protected from commercial collection and trade. Like many endangered turtle species, captive breeding programs are used to satisfying the demand for wood turtles as pets.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!!!

This area of the Northeast hasn't dried out since this spring and the ground is saturated. I have been trying to plant some wildlife food plots but all this rain hasn't been helpful. I was finally able to plant this field with winter wheat last week but the ground was unable to absorb 0.60 inches of rain yesterday.



This isn't standing water in a flat field, it's a stream of water from other fields flowing across this field and taking seeds with it. Some of my other food plots have been so wet the seeds rotted in the ground.



A small stream of water flowing out of the field.

Milk Snake

While watering some plants in our solarium, which is attached to the garage, I found this small eastern milk snake looking for the nearest exit.



This snake was about the size of a pencil and had just shed its old layer of skin.



The eastern milk snake is generally docile and often kept as pets since it rarely attempts to bite unless it feels restrained.

Turkey Day

No, it isn't Thanksgiving. It was another cool/wet day after more rain last night and we decided to check for flooding in local streams when we spotted this flock of turkeys and deer.





After checking the local streams we drove to our cabin property and found another flock of turkeys and some deer in one of the food plots.



My next stop was behind our barn where we found another 6 turkeys.



The gobbler in the flock. Hopefully the turkeys will stay in the area until the fall turkey season.

Home Sweet Home

During the hot days of summer I noticed several of the neighborhood deer take advantage of cool/shaded area under our cabin. This young buck is starting to use this spot during cool/rainy weather.



There's not much space under the cabin but the young buck showed me how he can crawl out.





Time to stretch.

Reed's Second Birthday

Mr. Reed is now 2 years old and time to celebrate.



Reed helps with the party balloons.



The guests start to arrive. Grandpa Rob and Uncle Ernie.



Erin and 3 week old Liam ...



Nap time for Liam.



8 month old Marley with Mary.



Marley and Eisley in the sand box as dad watches.



Marley



Reed taste testing the cake.



Time to open the presents. A backpack loaded with goodies. Animal cracker, Goldfish crackers, binoculars and books on bird watching and dinosaurs.



A new book for Reed and puzzles. Reed loves books and had to check this one out before proceeding.



Farm toys and animals. (Lots of small pieces)



A vintage antique Fisher Price Farm. Reed's first response upon seeing the barn was "E-I-E-I-O" (from the lyrics of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm")



Eisley and Reed playing with the farm ...





Reed making firetruck sounds.

Snapping Turtles

While heading back home on Bliss Road we found this small snapping turtle taking a stroll across the bridge over Wysox Creek.



With all the recent rain and flooding in the area I'm not sure if the turtle had been carried here in the high water or just looking for some high ground.



While it may look somewhat like a smile, this curmudgeon came close to eating my finger for lunch.

Turkeys

I was driving around our cabin property and found this flock of turkeys near the pond.



After watching the turkeys for about 5 minutes they walked into the grass and goldenrod where only their heads and necks were visible.

Only another 7 weeks until the start of the fall turkey season. (Mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce ... )

Neighborhood Fox

I was preparing to mow the field behind our barn when I spotted a young fox in the field looking for its next meal. The fox had focused its attention on finding food and didn't noticed me on my tractor. I decided to see how close I could get while on the tractor.



The fox started to walk slowly out of the field until it spotted a meal (maybe a frog) in a drainage ditch.



While the fox was enjoying its gourmet meal of frog legs I was able to get closer.



The young fox continued to look in the ditch for another tasty morsel as I inched closer on the tractor.



After about 10 minutes the fox stopped for a rest at the edge of the field and then walked into the brush.

Monarch Butterflies

The Teasel plants (invasive weeds) are in bloom and the Monarch butterflies are taking advantage of this nectar source.

Cicadas

While in Iowa, our grandson Reed got a chance to study a cicada. He referred to them as "icky bugs".





Bug Eyes

Blue Heron

I was driving around some of the area back-roads trying to navigate around road closures caused by the recent flooding and found this Blue Heron.