Praying Mantis

I was doing some clean-up at my garden and found this very friendly Praying Mantis. While the Praying Mantis may look fearsome, you only need to worry if you're an insect, they provide plant pest control. Praying Mantises make great pets, but their lifespan is only about a year.

Broken Antler

It's almost time for the bucks to shed the velvet covering on this year's new antlers. On this evening's wildlife drive I found this young buck with a broken antler tip that was just hanging by the velvet. It wasn't time for this buck to shed his velvet since it still contained blood used for antler development.

Stinky Squid Mushroom

The plan for today was remove some dead ash trees from a field, but Mother Nature threw a distraction at me. The distraction was this strange looking orange mushroom. I noticed a foul-smelling odor and flies landing on the mushroom.

This mushroom is Pseudocolus fusiformis, commonly known as the Stinky Squid mushroom, a member of the Stinkhorn family. The smell attracts insects, primarily flies, which disperse spores after visiting the fungus.

West Hill Coyote

Pulled the game camera cards at the West Hill property and got some photos of coyotes in the daytime. The coyotes don't travel much during the daylight hours, so it's hard to get a good photo.

It's Mushroom Picking Time

The recent heavy rains and warm temperature have triggered the growth of wild mushrooms in our neighborhood.

Grandson Reed and his Dad were here this weekend and Reed likes mushrooms. The Chanterelle mushrooms (Cantharellus cibarius) started appearing last week and Reed was eager to pick some mushrooms. We found two more new patches of Chanterelles and picked enough for a large meal.

Found this juvenile Great Blue Heron in our pond near a patch of Chanterelles.

The Oyster Mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) are starting to appear at our West Hill property. Picked enough for a couple of meals, and some to give away.

Chanterelle Mushrooms

With all of the strange weather we've had this Summer I wasn't sure if I would find any mushrooms. We checked one of our chanterelle mushroom patches yesterday and it only had a few small mushrooms and not enough to pick. Today we checked another location on our property and it was a bumper crop that was ready for picking.

Road Repair

I looked out our front window this morning and found a "Road Closed" sign in the township road just below our driveway.

The township had worked for years, if not a decade or more, to find the funding to replace a stream crossing in the road below our house.

Removal of the old stream crossing.

The old stream crossing was constructed from old fuel tanks that were butted together to form a large culvert.

The new culvert pipes are in the background.

Fawns Everywhere

Today's evening wildlife drive was all about fawns. It was almost like grade school recess. A total of 10 different fawns at the cabin property during the drive.

The fawns were everywhere in small groups.

The class bully.

Dancing prima donna.

The shy kid.

Black Bears

It was another hot day and I wasn't seeing much activity on my evening wildlife drive at the cabin property. As I rounded a turn in the road while returning to the barn I found a bear and 3 cubs in the road. The cubs quickly ran into the woods before I could pick up the camera and I was only able to get this quick shot as the mother bear followed after the cubs.

Rabbit Invasion

Our neighborhood is experiencing an invasion of marauding herbivores that are decimating my garden. These marauders have wiped out my beets, Swiss chard and some of the beans.

I have launched a counter offensive to capture these marauders and deport them to a new location.

I transported this captive to my wildlife food plot.

The prisoner made a hasty exit from the trap.

The prisoner was last seen crossing the new brassica and sugar beet food plot for refuge in the woods.

Checking Out The Neighborhood

I never know what I'll see on the short drive from our barn to the cabin. A turkey with poults and a deer, checking out each other.

Evening Wildlife Drive

Photos from evening wildlife drive at the cabin property

Tree Frog

Its been a wet weekend, so it wasn't surprising to see a Gray Tree Frog (Dryophytes versicolor) climbing the glass on our sliding door.

Turkey Poults

After a late afternoon downpour of rain passed through the neighborhood we took a drive to check the local stream level. As we drove along Joyce Road we had a family of turkeys cross the road.

At first, only a few of the young poults crossed the road with the mother. More of the poults crossed as the mother continued to call. Some of the poults flew across.

Once all the poults were across the road they headed into the tall weeds ...

There's always one of the kids that won't stay with the group.

West Hill Bathtub

Time to check the game cameras at our West Hill property. Earlier this year we constructed a new road into a wooded area and needed to install a culvert pipe across the road. Decided to repurpose an old bathtub with the culvert pipe installation and create a wildlife watering hole. Some of the animals that stopped at the new watering hole.

This bear passed by twice.

The bobcat is still in the area.

A young buck stopped for a drink.

A grey fox.

Turkey.

A pileated woodpecker.