OUR RESIDENT THREE LEGGED DEER

My hubby took this pix this morning when the snow was lightly falling just west of our cabin.  A three legged deer is on the right, her sidekick is on the left.  They are nearly always together.

Last fall our yard had an abundance of red oak acorns falling on the ground like marbles.  It was one of those years when you had to be careful where you stepped for fear of sliding on your backside and careful where you stood when hanging clothes on the clothesline.  A plunk on top of the head by a falling acorn stings!

With so much acorn "candy" in our yard, we began seeing deer during daylight hours feeding close to our cabin.   But one deer stood out among the rest, a doe with a good portion of her front leg missing.  Her stub leg showed no sign of injury or infection and appeared to be fully healed over.  Another younger deer always stood by her side, a doe that was probably her fawn.  Did she loose her leg after being struck by a car?  Was her leg tangled in a fence? Did she have a narrow escape from a wolf attack?  We'll never know her story.

To this day our three legged deer keeps showing up in the yard and often beds down in tag alders near the house.  Every time we spot her, the doe fawn is nearby.  It seems as though the fawn has a mission to keep an eye on the older deer.  The young deer may well be helping the older one survive the winter.

Often at night we hear deer kicking away snow and crunchy leaves searching for buried acorns near our bedroom window.  We've woke up in the night several times hearing the deers scratching sounds.  Looking out our window in the moonlight we've seen the three legged deer with her buddy just a few feet away.  With one front leg missing, foraging through snow has to be difficult for her.  Maybe the fawn kicks away a little larger area of snow so the three legged deer can find acorns too, perhaps unknowingly, but one is definitely aiding the other. 

So far our three legged deer looks healthy and plump and she seems to have adapted fairly well to her handicap.  Running is difficult for her, but she throws herself forward at a pretty fast pace when she feels the need.  When I think of our zub-zero temps and lack of feed in harsh winters, it's a wonder that even healthy whitetail deer make it through.  Although this winter has been relatively mild so far, at least in January, this three legged deer is a true survivor.

Just checkin' to see if anybody's observant... here's a little track and treasure spotted on a walk the other day!

BIRCH TREE SEEDS ON THE SNOW

This past weekend we had our January thaw, an expected but not always given mid winter treat.  A January thaw gives you a chance to take a long walk outside and serves as a reminder that winter will not last forever.  Saturday on my walk I noticed hundreds of little seeds atop the snow underneath this birch tree. I love the patterns created on birch tree bark, this tree is no exception.

 

I've probably seen these little flecks atop the snow many times before, but today they caught my eye with their little tan and brown bird like shapes.  Brisk winds from the past couple of days more than likely caused them to scatter from the tree tops to the snow covered ground.

After kneeling down and looking at the little bird like shapes and wondering what they were all about, I took a few photos of them.  

The paper birch tree as shown above has seed pods called catkins that hang from the outer edges of it's branches.  The catkins, when mature, come apart, and fall to the ground.  They have a stem in the center with "separators" and seeds in between them that remind me of shish kabobs.

Each catkin can hold over a thousand birch tree seeds.  The separators are the bird shaped pieces and the seeds are round with what look like two wings attached to them.  Birch tree seeds fall off the trees from August all the way through the following winter months.  The seeds provide food for winter birds but most of all they just want to turn into little birch trees.

Next time you go for a winter walk with snow cover, look under a large birch tree and maybe you'll see the little bird shaped pieces and birch tree seeds scattered all around you on the ground.  I marvel at the little things in nature that can turn into big things like a beautiful paper birch tree.

WINTER SUNSETS AND MOURNING DOVES

It was another spectacular winter sunset at home last evening.  I've enjoyed several beautiful ones this winter as I look out over our pond where the sky starts out with a brilliant orange hue and turns pink as the sun disappears below the horizon.

This time of year my hubby puts an electric aerator in the pond to keep an area of water open.  When the snow covers the ice it cuts off the sunlight, causing plant material in the pond to die and begin to decompose.  This process robs oxygen from the water, taking it away from the fish, and will eventually cause "winter kill".  We have good success with the aerator, so generally not long after the New Year it starts to hum.

As soon as an opening of water appears, we begin to notice mourning doves as they fly in to quench their thirst each evening at dusk.  They arrive in groups of a dozen or more and land in the trees at the pond's edge.  A red pine tree is their favorite gathering place.  The doves seem to take turns, flying back and forth from their roosts in the trees to the open water, making beautiful twittering sounds all the while in flight.

 

My uncle called mourning doves "rain crows".  Their cooing sounds in warmer seasons is said to be a sign of rain in the near future.  The gentle sounds the doves make are always comforting to me.  They are very shy birds when they land on the pond and scatter quickly when we walk near them.  I'm amazed at how they can get close enough to drink without falling in!

CABIN FEVER

Here's a poem about the illness that affects most nature loving Wisconsinites this time of year...

 

Since it's much too cold to journal outdoors for my blog this week, I decided to dig up an old poem for you that I wrote last winter.  It fits my mood.  Everyone who lives in the north woods knows what cabin fever is.  It strikes you when winter gets so cold that you can't enjoy the outdoors the way you'd like to.  It comes along when you are fed up to the ying yang with those short days, long nights, and cold temps and you want to scream...  I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!

It's still early winter, so most cases of cabin fever are mild ones yet.  It was only 23° below zero this morning.  Wait til late February or early March and cases will become more prevalent.  In the most severe case, there is no cure, until one sees pussy willows.

CABIN FEVER

   

Wisconsin winters, firewood splinters
Christmas lights, starry nights

Smokey stoves, birchwood groves
Wood pile shrinking, outhouse stinking

Drippy nose, frozen toes
Chapped lips, frozen fingertips

Mittens and caps, afternoon naps
Frizzy hair, thermal underwear

Fogged up glasses, cold as molasses
Animal tracks, snowmen when it packs

Fishing on ice, shacks are nice
Skis on snow, go Pack go

Shorter days, lazier ways
Winter's long, like a boring song

Nobody's friend, when will it end
Cabin fever, love it or leave her

Keep your thoughts warm and cheery, put your headlamp on, 

and think about pussy willows.