New Helper in the Garden; A Guest Post by Chunk

It's a good thing I came along, because Anne really needs help in this garden. Case in point…

She put some wonderful, smelly fruit in the compost pile. I had to get it out. Then I ate it.

Ahh! It's nice to cool down after working in the sun.

She doesn't know much about her pond. These things are delicious!

So are the stems. But my BFF Lily and I ate most of them.

They say muskrats like them too. I'd really like to meet a muskrat.

She lets that water spray everywhere!

Luckily, I'm here to attack it.

I know there's a rodent in this yard somewhere. (Thanks, Dawn Huczek, for your great photo!)

Why don't you let me handle the little critter that my way, hmmm?

  

She does appreciate me though. After a hard day on the beach, she helps me dry off.

But I can do that myself too.

Now for a well-deserved rest…

"What are ya using for bait?"

A post from guest blogger, J Bowen

I have always been blessed with being able to see some incredible things while out hunting or fishing. I can’t tell you how many times I just sit in my stand or on the ground and do nothing but watch the animals approach me. I’ve seen fox, coyote, owls (a number of different species), eagles, mink, raccoons, possums, skunks, squirrels, turkey, deer, mountain lion, bear and many others! As I get older, I do more watching than actual hunting, but I enjoy the experience no matter what.

One of my most incredible experiences unfolded when my brother and I were fishing in West Virginia. We were fishing in a cove, when we spotted two deer swimming across the width of the lake. The first was a female and obviously older than the second little guy. We saw Mom make it to shore and look back at her baby. I watched helplessly as the baby started swimming in circles about 25 yards from shore. I knew this meant it was exhausted and confused. It would surely drown if something wasn’t done and quickly. I yelled to my brother to take me over to the youngster. He yelled back, “That deer will kick the heck out of you!” I insisted, “Take me over anyway,” and so he did.
As we cruised up to the little guy, my brother positioned the boat so that I could reach over with my left hand and grab the scruff of his neck--I didn’t know deer had a scruff, kinda like a cat’s. As I pulled him out, he just collapsed in my arms and appeared ever so thankful to be out of the water. He didn’t kick, fight, bite or anything except shake from nervousness and possibly the cold autumn water. He didn’t seem afraid of us, perhaps apprehensive, but more thankful to be dry again! His spots were magnificent and cute just doesn’t describe him. How truly beautiful it was to have this animal close to me!

I held him close while my brother took this picture and then we went over to where Mom was on the shore. She wasn’t so sure of us, so she had moved away up on a hillside. I took the little guy, set him out of the boat onto the shore, patted his behind and said “Go find Mom.” God’s markings on animals are amazing camouflage. There was a great deal of underbrush where I put him on shore and just after the pat, I lost sight of him that quick! We backed off to see if Mom would find and accept the little guy. We heard some squalls from baby and responses from Mom, and about 10 minutes later we spotted them up on the hillside beside each other. They both seemed happy and relaxed. It was just one of those very special moments that people who never know the out-of-doors can’t even imagine.

I'm not surprised J was able to persuade her brother to abandon caution and intervene. She once almost persuaded me to stand against the cabin wall at camp while she demonstrated her knife-throwing skill. Today her career is in law enforcement and investigations. By the way, J is not the only person to have such a startling experience with a deer. Thanks for the story and the amazing photo!

Things you didn’t know you didn’t know

One of the great things about learning about nature is meeting really interesting people. I  knew the name Ted MacRae from our nature study group and found his blog, Beetles in the Bush. It challenged me to learn about creatures I had never even noticed before, especially those beautiful tiger beetles! It’s always great to learn things you didn’t know that you didn’t know. Later I met Ted in person and found that he was not only a great  entomologist and writer, but also a friend. His invitation to write a post on Beetles in the Bush was intriguing. I enjoyed writing “Dogbane for Dinner” so much, I started “Gardening with Binoculars.” Thanks, Ted!