Poor Kitty

 
 
This poor cat looks like it's missing an ear and has a chunk bitten out of its neck.

Raccoon Heading Towards the House

 
 
 

Update

I haven't posted in a while but I've been meaning to. I made a tiny garden and planted green onions, sunflowers, cantaloupes, and pumpkins. They are starting to sprout but who knows if anything will ever come of them, since I planted them at the sight of my old compost heap which the raccoons regularly raid. I made a new compost heap which I want to eventually be the focus of my camera trap. I moved the camera trap towards the house in hopes of catching the fox which runs down our path to the woods. We also had a bunch of invasive vines removed, which uncovered some planks that I kicked and out slithered a small snake. Oh yeah, I had been wanting to buy a berry plant but lo and behold, a new one started growing with lots of berries on it. I can't wait til they ripen.

Deer Getting Summer Coat

 
If I had to name this deer, I would name it Scruffy.

Frost

 
 
I wasn't sure what this was at first, then I realized it must be frost. The second picture was taken at around 6 a.m.

Fox

 
Too bad this is only the back of a fox.

Fox Sighting

I was clearing the breakfast dishes when my son (13.5 months old) became awfully quiet in his high chair. When I went back to check on him, he was staring out the window at a fox! It was scratching itself for a while, posed in front of the camera trap, and ran off. Unfortunately the camera wasn't in the case because I had recently taken it inside to download pictures. Oh well. At least I have another pair of eyes to alert me to foxes.

New Species!

This morning at around 5:30 a.m. I heard a new species! An owl! It was rather loud even though it was in the distance. No pictures, but I'm glad I got to hear it.

Happy Earth Day!

 
When we went on vacation almost a month ago, I came back to a half empty pond, which was bad news for the tadpoles. I filled the pond back up, and am happy to report the tadpoles are alive and well!

Best Fox Pic of the Year!

 
Here is the picture I promised. He seems to be posing and maybe he was caught off guard by my new camera location. I'm very pleased with this photo. Don't you just love it?!

Fox Sightings

 
 
 
Here are some fox shots to whet your appetite. We have seen a pair of foxes recently. I was hoping they were living under our deck, but I looked and didn't see anything. I'm hoping they are living nearby and that we will see their babies soon. I'm saving the best fox picture for later. I'm rather impressed with it, if I do say so myself. Stay tuned!

Squirrel

 
Squirrels are fun to watch, but pictures of them are not so exciting.

Good Deer Shots

 
 
These are my favorite deer pictures from my last batch. I like how the first deer's ears are all perked up, and how the second one is trotting by.

New Camera Trap Location

 
 
 
 
Here is an assortment of deer photos. Lots of deer were passing by but not getting their pictures taken, until I turned my camera to point at a different direction. I'm having more luck now. I'll post my favorite deer shots later.

Raccoon/Deer Encounter

 
 
 
 
I wish I got this on video. First there is a deer apparently licking its back. Then there is something in a tree. The deer is looking at it like, "What in the world?". Then the raccoon is out of the tree, and both the deer and the raccoon beat a hasty retreat. It seems they surprised each other. It's like the chicken and the egg. Did the raccoon climb the tree because it was scared of the deer, or was the deer scared of the raccoon in the tree? We'll never know.

Isn't my yard beautiful?

 
Yes, it's beautiful...only it's not my yard. (It's a wildflower meadow called Table Mountain in California.)

White-tail's Tarsal Organ

Okay, so I don't have a PhD. in Zoology. My whole blog is littered with references to deer I called "Wounded Knee". Lots of deer had this same "wound". Turns out it's not a wound after all, it's a tarsal organ. So wherever you read "Wounded Knee" replace that with "tarsal organ", please. My bad...or is it? Camera Trap Codger has my blog listed as blogs he reads, but apparently he either doesn't read it, or failed to tell me about the tarsal organ! So I'm feeling pretty stupid right now, but how am I supposed to know that? And why didn't he tell me?! Arg. Oh well. Now I know. You can read about it here:
http://cameratrapcodger.blogspot.com/2009/03/black-tails-tarsal-organ.html

Frog Eggs

Well, the frogs survived the snow. It got up into the 70's and there are now frog eggs in the pond. I still haven't seen the frogs up close, but they've been making a lot of noise.

Second Snow of the Season

 
 
 
 
We got about 4 inches on March 2nd. As you can see, the pond is frozen. I sure hope those frogs had the sense to go back into hibernation.

Frogs

The frogs have emerged! I haven't seen them yet, but I heard them. Unfortunately their timing is bad, because the forecast is calling for rain, sleet, and snow over the next three days.

First Snow

I'm a little late posting this. This was taken on Jan. 27, our only snow so far, which amounted to a couple inches.
 

Quiz Answer Revealed

 
Those of you who voted for puffballs were correct! This picture of them shows them after I stepped on them and they emitted a puff of brown dusty spores. Supposedly you can eat them fried in butter before they reach the spore stage. Mmmmm....if I ever find myself locked out of my house and am hungry, now I know where to look.

The temperature got down into the single digits here overnight, but warmed up to the mid 20's today. There were a few deer outside who looked like they had wooly coats. Lucky for them they have hooves which are preferable to fingers and toes in this weather.

New Quiz Question

 

Looking Back on 2008

I didn't post as much last year, but having a baby is my excuse. Maybe Scooter will be walking soon and can help around the yard. Looking back at my posts last year, I sum up 2008 like so: (Hopefully this isn't as boring as a Christmas newsletter...oops...hope I didn't insult anyone who writes those things)...
-Camera Trap Codger visited twice in one year (a new record), creating "sets" and using a scent lure
-I employed the use of polls and videos to enhance my blog
-We had 3 new species (topping 2007's 2 new species): a snake, a box turtle, and a white footed mouse
-We had baby raccoons, young foxes, spotted fawns, and baby wrens nesting on our porch (the wren was spotted today in the same nest!)....oh, and presumably baby squirrels considering the squirrels were caught on video performing x-rated activities.
-The bat stayed with us in our bedroom window for a whopping 6 months (June through November).

I will try to post more often in the new year, especially considering I now have 2 followers! (Thanks, followers!). Camera Trap Codger and I today were both in agreement we wanted to double our followers this year (I'd like to have around 5, and he'd like to have 50). ;)

I suppose I will continue my tradition of naming the previous year after something. I hereby proclaim 2008 Year of the Reptile, in honor of the snake and box turtle, which made their debuts. May 2009 hold more new species (I'm hoping for skunks and possums). The last time I checked my camera trap and was looking at the thumbnail pictures, for a second there, I thought I had a picture of a bear. It was only a fleeting thrill, until I remembered how my memory stick had failed, and that Camera Trap Codger had given me one of his used ones. That would have been pretty remarkable to have bears here in suburban VA.

Happy New Year!