The Last Days of Fall

We've been enjoying the last days of Fall. It's been unseasonably warm for this time of the year!


There's been time for one last Fall walk in the woods...soon the carpet of leaves will be covered in white and Hooper Run will be iced over.

The Burning Bush is ablaze with color ~

The squirrels have been busy gathering walnuts for winter. This little guy was posing so nice for me!








One of the shrubs that I can count on to add a lot of color to the gardens this time of the year is the Barberry.

The deer have been out in the field enjoying the nice weather too. This doe was busy munching some grass in the field. It almost looks like she has a toothpick in her mouth.

Winter will soon be arriving with it's own special beauty...

Fawns In The Field

Every evening right before dusk the deer come up out of the woods into the field beside our house. We enjoy sitting on the porch watching them. Free entertainment from nature!

This summer there's one single and two sets of fawns that we've been watching in the field. They're so playful and adorable!

I'm getting a little better at sneaking up on them to take pictures. I was hiding behind a tree at the edge of the field taking photos when this fawn heard me. He turned his head and looked right at me.  

They feed for awhile and the fawns playfully run around the field. It's been so much fun watching the fawns as they grow. Finally they wander back down into the woods.

Our Bushy-Tailed Friends

If you have walnut trees on your property, you can be sure that your yard will be very popular with the squirrels! They're interesting little creatures to watch. I think one of the best things that I've gotten from spending time in my garden is an appreciation of the little critters we share it with. Nature is so amazing!

This old mill stone, leaning against the wall is a favorite spot of the squirrels to sit and clean the walnuts.

They build two types of nests in our trees ~ cavity dens and leaf nests. This leaf nest is one that they built in our maple tree.

 

 

 

This is the entrance to another nest that they have lined with leaves.

 

 

If you take the time to patiently watch them interact with each other, you begin to see their habits. They have favorite branches that they like to sit on while enjoying the nuts.

They like to sit with their backs to the base of the trees while they clean the husks off of the walnuts. Look at those sharp fingernails!

As fall approaches they become busy gathering and storing the nuts for the winter ahead.

Squirrels have four teeth in front of their mouths that constantly grow. This makes sure that their teeth don't wear down from all of the gnawing .

In winter they become little seed bandits. I'd hung an old scale pan filled with seed out for  the birds. I looked out one morning and saw this little guy swinging back & forth while munching on seed. Doesn't it almost look like he's smiling?

This one definitely had personality! He was so happy to find the bird seed on the little pedestal. He looked like he was dancing!

They're little acrobats, climbing and hanging from branches to get at the bird feeders.

 

 

This squirrel was making sure that no seed went to waste. He was picking up chunks of snow and chewing it to find the seed that had fallen on the ground. Our bushy-tailed friends are the reason I have to go to Tractor Supply every week for bird seed. I swear they eat half of what I put out for the birds.....but I guess they have to eat too....and they do provide entertainment for us!

Momma Turkey & Her Babies Come To Visit ~

I found this wild Turkey & her babies lying in this dirt area above where my compost pile is, next to the field. Keeping real close to the ground, I was able to sneak up on her to take pics. I was surprised at how close I was able to get to them. Wild Turkeys have excellent vision & hearing which is why they are able to elude hunters.

She was flapping her wings, dusting herself & her babies with the dirt. They do this to clean themselves of ticks, mites or other bugs that might get on them. It also helps to keep their feathers from becoming greasy or matted. This was so cool to see!

 

 

I didn't realize how many babies there were until she stood up & they all started coming up out of the dirt. I just kept counting.....she had about 12 or 13 babies! 

 

 

 

 

Hen turkeys usually lay about 8-15 buff colored eggs which she incubates 25-31 days. The baby turkeys are called poults.

 

 

I've read that when turkeys find a spot for dusting that they will often times come back. I've seen them a couple times since but haven't been able to get as close to them as I did on this day!

 

 

When the mother started to leave, all of the little ones quickly followed behind, marching in line.

All You Can Eat Buffet!

This bunny has been spending a lot of time at the salad bar, also known as my flower bed. I wish they'd eat the weeds with as much gusto as they do my flowers. Oh well ~ can't get too mad at them because they're just so cute!