March here in the Connecticut River Valley was absolutely...decent. Usually here in March in the mornings I am walking on 18 inches of snow with cement like crust, which by noon has softened enough to become impassable. This year, slogging through mud. As of today, I only have one place left on the property that is still frozen, and by tomorrow everything will be completely thawed. As you may have surmised, the deer never needed to yard up this year, and thus I threw out a bit of corn everyday to maintain a longer census. I did switch from cracked corn to whole corn on the advice of a game warden. Interestingly, turkeys never discovered the corn until a week or so ago. Speaking of turkeys, a video of a flock of 150+ was taken less than a mile from camp! The flock you see here numbers around twenty. Early this morning our hunters were out scouting for turkeys.
One thing different this year. Not a single coyote on camera since December. They are GONE! I have a neighbor to thank for that. But imagine, if you will, that now I have to travel if I want to hunt them! How ironic is that! Watch the fawn numbers soar.
Below is a nice looking doe passing underneath a twenty foot ladder stand. I've never placed a camera here before and am pleased at all the pictures.
Eyeball within earshot picture of this curious deer!
This red fox is just about to cross one of my mineral licks. Looks healthy, and why not? No snow cover for rabbits or mice this year.
One of our flocks feeding, with a big tom wanting to go to work. Pay attention ladies!
This is the so-called hemlock group below. They bed about 300 yards from here in a dense hemlock grove. There are actually nine in this group.
Just winging on by...
Can anyone tell me what kind of creature this red fox has caught? The fox appears healthy, if not fat!
Not sure if this turkey is flying in, flying out, or just exercising.
The picture below explains why we call them 'whitetails'!
Turkeys and deer. Almost always compatible, although deer youngsters love to chase the big birds.
The two pictures below show what I have been doing on trail, and there is a lot of cleaning up to do still!
Beside farm chores, trail cleanup is a week long issue in these parts. No ice storms this year but we did have some days of near gale force winds, and it'll take me days to be happy with trail conditions. Not complaining here, I love the work! With farm maintenance and chores, and twice weekly trips to the shooting range (and the Sheriff's Dept) we do stay busy!
Hi Guys, love your blog's Jack! Looking at it tonight from Punta Cana, be home the 7th. Maybe that fox has a star nosed Mole that made the mistake of surfacing early this year?
ReplyDeleteHi Guys, love your blog's Jack! Looking at it tonight from Punta Cana, be home the 7th. Maybe that fox has a star nosed Mole that made the mistake of surfacing early this year?
ReplyDeleteI enjoy looking at all your pictures that you post at your camp. Love the turkeys, deer and fox pix. Glad the coyotes are gone. I know it's always something to do at camp to keep it running smooth. It's good to stay busy and be in the great wild outdoors! Have a great week my friend! :)
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