Sneaky little hooves

We've known he's taken a liking to our backyard. We've seen him around. Deuce certainly knows he's here. They have the animal version of an argument over just who owns the space. The buck walks in, Deuce leaps to his paws to give chase, the buck goes as far as the top of the stone fence and stops. Then the buck snorts at the dog and the dog freezes. He's not sure what that whistle/snort means but he knows it's not a good thing in his little doggie world. 

And that's it. The show is over for the moment. It will resume the next time the buck steps into the backyard. 

We try not to laugh at our dog. Deuce is our furry son, after all. He holds the title of Honorary Human, unlike the cat. (Loki is a Heathen, let me tell you.) But the dog's sudden loss of bravado is funny. 

We hope this young-ish buck stays on our side of the road and out of the state park where he could be "harvested." We'd like to see him remain in the gene pool for another season because he's a good-sized animal. So many bucks around here are getting smaller. 

This is the first time the buck has tripped the trail cam that we can get a good video of him and prove to the naysayers we have an eight-point lurking about. 

Who does own the backyard? I do, and I say the buck can stay.

Stay sneaky, my little friend. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor (The Hideaway)

 

Trail cam provides proof of activity

 Last fall, on an impulse, I purchased an inexpensive trail cam to see what actually goes on in the backyard after dark. It's been both interesting and disappointing. 

We expected to get a lot of deer footage and we have. Unfortunately, there are times the trail cam doesn't activate until it's almost too late and we get a two-second blip. Other times it works the way we want it to. A few months ago it gave us a five-second video of a doe with a very bad limp. We agreed it was unlikely she'd survive the summer. Now, thanks to continuing footage, we can report she has healed and has just a slight limp. She was living alone in our woods but is once again traveling with her group. She can keep up with them when they run so we're hopeful all is well with her. 

We'd also hoped to discover where the foxes pass through the yard so we can set the Havahart trap for them. They've got to go. Not only would they eat Loki if they could catch him, but they carry a virus dangerous to dogs. 

And then there is the raccoon. The raccoons around here can carry rabies. He needs to be dispatched if we can catch him. Common sense says this one is probably fine since we don't see him during the day but it's a chance I don't want to take. I go outside with the dog after dark and I've had an unholy fear of rabies all my life. 

One thing I've learned is that I should download the footage from the trail cam more frequently. Clicking through thousands of images takes a lot of time. If I made it a weekly habit, it would only be a couple of hundred images to view. 

But sometimes the cam picks up some very strange wild life, something almost unexplainable. Something that amuses at least one of us. 

The Lord of the Manor does occasionally do a little work, and now he has proof.

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor