Summer more or less arrives

It's warming up now--in the nineties occasionally.  Yesterday, it was cooler and stormy, with a tornado warning.  One tornado did tough down to the south of here, but did no damage.  We had some pea-sized hail and a lot of wind, plus .15 inch of rain.  Then things cleared and all was well.

We have been out to the cabin several times this year.  Last trip, we found hera buck moth caterpillars.  I brought a few back to see if I can get them to pupate.  I put them in a jar and they formed a caterpillar "train"!  They are now in a more natural setting in a screen enclosure outside and a plastic box inside.

On the way back from the cabin, we saw this sign:

Followed by:

The last two trips out, we took pictures of wildflowers and critters.  We saw three badgers in one day (always a good day when you see badgers!), plus a fox, several eagles and a baby antelope on other trips.

The pair of antelope were the first doe/fawn pair we had seen this year (June 9th).  The tiny fawn we saw June 16th.  He/she is only a few hours old.  The fawn did not move even though we drove past it twice, stopping to take pictures each time.  Very tiny antelope just lie very still in the sage brush.  I just happened to catch a glimpse of this one and we stopped for pictures.  Earlier, we slowed down when we spotted a fawn that looked fairly young, but it was old enough to get up and run when we slowed down.  They learn quite quickly to move away from danger--only the tiny ones lie still while you photograph them.

The photos above and below are paintbrush
we photographed on the way to the cabin.  This
type of paintbrush grows mostly in Shirley Basin.
It's greenish or purplish, unlike the more common
red paintbrush.  Indian paintbrush has many
species growing throughout Wyoming.

                                  These are wild irises.














The ducks are now quite large.  They are allowed out of the pen during the day as long as someone is home.  It took a bit, but they are now wondering about the windbreak and garden areas most of the day.  These ducks are more docile than the Rouens than we had last year, though these are by far noisier.  They almost sound like geese when they get to quacking.  They know me and will stay lying down in the grass when I come by, but they don't know my hubby yet, so they still stand up and start quacking when he goes by.   It's interesting the difference between the two breeds of ducks.  The Pekins still lie down a lot and it wasn't until yesterday that I actually saw them "playing" in the water container we have for them to jump in.  Until yesterday, they would drink out of it, but not jump in.  The Rouens would immediately run to the pans when I turned them loose and jump right in.  The Pekins are much larger than the Rouens already.  We are watching to see how these work out before we decide what species to get next year.

Bug hunting in the windbreak trees!

 Ants were swarming the hose connection earlier in the week.  I don't know if they were looking for water or what.  It was a bit disconcerting!

This is a kingbird atop the empty feeder.  A pair of these have built a next in the windbreak and like to dive at me and squawk when I go past the tree.  They hover above me and make as much noise as possible.  This is the first year I can remember them nesting in the trees, though I always see several of them in my yard each year.

Warmth vanishes

Cold and wet weather returned to Wyoming.  The ducks are now in the greenhouse where they stay dry and out of the high wind.  We had to snag the ducks out of their pen yesterday when the temperature dropped to around 45 and it continued to rain.  They don't have their adult feathers yet and they were soaked when we went out to check.  We herded them into a cage, then moved them over to the greenhouse (all the plants that were hardening off had to come in the house--this is a chaotic time of year).  I do have to check on them to be sure they don't get too warm.  I think they preferred the pen, though maybe they just don't like being chased into cages and relocated!

I noticed their beaks are different colors.  I looked this up and that is apparently how you determine the sex of the ducks.  The lighter peach colored beaks are the females.  We have two females and three males.  It really did not matter to us what sex they were since they are just bug-eaters.

Beak colors indicate sex

It continues to be cold today (50 degrees) and the wind is 15 to 20 mph.  The rain is slowing, so they may be able to go back to their pen tomorrow or Wednesday.

(This will be after I modify the tarp over the pen.  It was nicely waterproof, but also collected a lot of rain, sagging down and damaging the chicken-wire cover to the cage.  Since it has been quite some time since we had any significant rainfall, I had not thought of this possibility.)

Here come the ducks!

 Our baby ducks arrived April 26th.  You see they were very small when we brought them home.  These are Pekin ducks.  Last year we had Rouens.  We raise the ducks to serve as bug and weed control, then butcher them in the fall.  Last year, the Rouens had started laying eggs and we did not know this until this spring when we cleaned out the duck house.  This year we will watch more closely.

These ducks grew very quickly.  We had them in the garage in the duel sided pen from last year (see June 19, 2012 on this blog).  However, because they grew quickly, we put them outside at three weeks of age.
Everything I have read says ducks have to stay warm, but ours have always been kept at 60 to 70 degrees since day one.  Moving them outside actually was warmer than the garage pen.  The cold has no effect on them.  However, when the mercury hit 88 degrees one day, they were panting significantly.  I sprayed the tarp on their cage down and wet the ground to help cool them.  Mornings when it's 45 degrees they are out peeping roaming around the pen.

 This is at about a week in age.  They more than doubled in size during this period.  They were getting cramped in the three foot by three foot pen, even at this age.  And MESSY.




To the bottom right, this is one of their first days out.

                 

 Below:
You can just see their wings starting to feather out.  They look so funny with the tiny little wings--almost like arms!  They are also getting more white with each passing day.  Unlike the ducks last year, these are not as friendly.  They will come over when I talk to them, but only cautiously.  They also lay down a lot, especially when they seem frightened.

Here we have one of the many swift foxes that live around our lot.  The trapped one was relocated several miles away.  The ducks are still very small and vulnerable to an attack.  I think by the time they get feathered out, the fox may not be such a threat.  Swift foxes are very small-about the size of a cat, and not nearly as aggressive as red or gray foxes.

My game cam caught another fox cruising about after dark.  So far, this has been the only one.

The pen this year has a full cover--chicken wire on one side, orange snow fence on the other--to help keep predators out.  After catching three foxes so far this spring, we opted to add fiberglass around the pen for now, so predators can't dig under.  I will probably modify this design as the ducks get older.  You can see a "door" right by the concrete block.  This is so we can reach the food and water containers without going into the pen or opening the larger gate.  I decided last year we needed a change.  Also, the water dishes will sit on an area I dug out and filled with rocks, then put the dirt back.  This should allow for much better drainage.

I will update periodically.

And winter just keeps coming

April 16 and we are in the middle of a blizzard!  This time we have a lot of wind.  I'm not sure how much snow, as it is piled up in corners of the yard, the sagebrush and multiple drifts.  It's supposed to snow through noon tomorrow!  Actually, even though it's late in the year, we really need snow or rain. It has been remarkably dry.
(Check out the wildlife page for my bird pics.  The dog and I went out and put food in the feeder in spite of the blizzard--they looked sooo cold.)

April 16, 3pm
(more snow expected.....)

April 10, which had mostly melted by the snow of the 16th

I liked the snow on the trees and sagebrush.

This has probably been hard on my daffodils,   which had just started blooming when the snow hit.  I will find out when things warm  up.  It has been very cold at night, so they may have frozen.

This was a unique icicle!  Needless to say, it fell off the first time we turned on the light, but it was interesting for a while!









   




The window photo was taken at night and shows how much snow piled up.  When it warmed up, the snow on the roof melted and dropped down on the snow, knocking it off.





                                               

 The two small photos show more snow built up.  My dog is maybe eight inches tall at her tummy, so the snow was deep to her.

Weather, weather every where!

The last week has been an interesting one for weather.  On March 17, in the morning we had strong winds, massive dust storms then in the afternoon we had a blizzard!

Now the snow!

It never really go very light in the afternoon, which
is why the blizzard looks so dark.
It snowed about 3 inches, with the wind blowing
in from all directions.


















Today, the 21st of March, we are having another snow storm.

It's brighter today and snowing quite
hard.  I let my little dog out and she
was bravely hopping through the snow!
Actually, she loves the snow and will
sit out in it until she gets completely
covered.  I didn't think that she would
brave the depth of the snow,
but she did.

In the year 2013

Winter was supposed to arrive as a "winter storm" over the weekend.  The storm was more of a light snow (under 6 inches) followed by a lot of wind.  There really is not much drifting as of yet, no need to break out the four-wheel drive.

I will admit I am jealous of the East Coast.  I truly miss two feet of snow.  Cold would be nice, too.  The -40 weather that was here in 1983.  No, I am not a masochist.  I just love cold and snow.  It's one of the reasons I don't live in a warmer place, say Florida.  Perhaps we will once again get the snow next year.  Actually, some of our heaviest snows are in March and April.  The snow just does not last long due to the warmth.

Here's a picture of the frost on our window:

I think frost patterns are SO fascinating.  They look like trees and ferns, sometimes mountains.  Nature is really beautiful!

It's been quiet here, except for the occasional dust storm or haystack fire:

My Christmas cactus bloomed this year--actually two of them did!  It's been over 10 years since any of the four bloomed.  My guess is the location actually had the right temperature and light to induce blooms.  These are some of the prettiest flowering house plants.  The cactus is a cutting from a cactus my grandfather had some 70 or more years ago.  The plants don't do as well in Wyoming as they did in Iowa.  It's too dry here, even inside.  They seem to thrive in higher humidity areas.  I keep on growing them and hoping to figure out the magic combination for getting blooms and bigger plants.

The picture under the cactus one is the hognose snake crawling along the side of his cage (my apologies to any persons disturbed by the photo--just scroll down!).

The picture on the left is my pommie playing dead dog.  She has a dental mismatch and her tongue hangs out at lot!  Makes for a very convincing dead dog photo, scary convincing at times.



The picture on the lower right is the gecko shedding his skin.
He has difficulty getting the skin on his head to slide off.

That's it for now!

The definition of STUPID

Once again there are "cute" pictures of people living with deer, being licked by them, petting them and allowing the deer into their homes.  We have a term for these people:  Idiots.

First, even Walt Disney had Bambi playing with other animals, not people, and Disney was the ultimate "warm and fuzzy brainless" guy out there.  People do not interact with Bambi, except where a hunter gets Bambi's mother.  People and Bambi were a bad mix.

Second, deer are WILD animals.  There are people injured and killed by "pet" deer.  Here are a couple of links:

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-12-01-deer-attacks_x.htm

http://bangordailynews.com/2011/10/13/outdoors/new-brunswick-man-dies-after-deer-attack/

Individuals who allow deer into their homes and up close in their yards lack any sense whatsoever.  The deer can seriously injure children and sometimes adults.  Deer have ticks that cause lyme disease.  Perhaps that's okay?  Lyme disease is just part of beautiful nature and your three year old hospitalized for lyme disease is no big deal, right?  It's far more important to foster emotional stupidity in your child than responsible, rational thought.  And in the end, having the deer in your yard and taking pictures, posting on youtube, sending emails are far more important than the health and welfare of your kid.  Kids outgrow cute, deer do not.

I post pictures of deer on my blog, yes.  I want to make it very clear I do NOT name the deer, pet the deer, let the deer in my house or any other emotionally gratifiying yet so stupid actions.  The deer are in my yard because I have tall sagebrush and trees, plus a small "pond".  The habitat is favorable.  I do not feed the deer.  I chase them away from my trees if I see them eating (I may take a photo first, then yell.) The deer laying against my house will jump up and run if I open the window, just like a wild animal is supposed to.  They are NOT pets.  

One year during hunting season I actually carried a gun everywhere in my yard because some of the deer had become aggressive.  One doe in particular would stomp the ground and snort at me.  I actually was afraid she would attack when I came around a blind corner of the house or garage.  

Message here:

Deer are NOT pets.  Only very stupid people make them into pets.  If you are one of the stupid people and the deer injure your children or you or give you a disease, check the mirror.  YOU injured your child or made them sick, YOU injured yourself or made yourself sick.  Hopefully it was worth the internet fame.  It certainly proves how little people care about wildlife and their own families.

This picture is take with a telephoto lens from my bedroom window.  Cropping makes the deer look closer.  This is as it should be.  

I have written about this in the past, and the damage the deer do to one's yard.  People who have deer licking their faces and checking out the barbecue have deer feces all over their yard.  Talk about an invitation to disease.  It is difficult to fathom the romance in a yard full of feces, wildlife in one's home and inviting injury and disease to fall upon one's family.