Whippoorwill Pines

Bears, Bears, and more Bears

I just happened to be passing by the kitchen window and spotted a large bear heading toward our fire pit behind the house.

Then out of the woods popped one -- two -- THREE cubs, trailing along behind her.

As she walked, she paused occasionally to sniff the air, and that made me worry about the bird feeder in the front yard. Bears have an astounding sense of smell. She walked around the garage and, sure enough, turned toward the feeder. She ambled along very casually, the cubs stopping behind her to investigate everything.

Then the cubs heard the bird bath; in warm weather I keep a garden hose running a continuous trickle of water into it. Even though a single adult deer can drink it dry, using the hose keeps it fresh and full so the birds can bathe and deer can come and go as they please.

When all three cubs climbed on the bird bath, I had to get a picture of it. I quietly stepped out on the front porch and snapped this shot:

Eventually mother bear moved toward the feeder, and that's when I made my presence known. Though I designed the feeder to come apart easily under a bear's "tender touch", I had just filled it. So I said "No!" and her head popped up. The cubs jumped down and ran toward their mother. She stood and looked at me. One more "No!" and all four bears turned on their heels and ran for the woods.

Note: Bears are wonderful to behold, and young cubs are simply adorable. But an adult bear has incredible, unbelievable strength. A mother bear with cubs can be easily provoked to action to defend her cubs. Never approach any bear, and do not feed them. As a bear becomes conditioned to a human's presence by being fed, they lose their natural instinct to avoid people. When they return for another feeding which you've trained them to expect and find none, they will continue to look for it and have broken into homes, cabins, campers, vehicles, and tents regardless of human presence. Bears that have become destructive may ultimately be trapped and euthanized by rangers. You're not doing them any favors by feeding them.

Winter Wonderland

It may seem a worn-out phrase...Winter Wonderland...until you see it afresh. Glistening snow, brilliant blue skies, blinding sunshine, and everywhere you look white white white. For some children near the coast, it's "A terrible way to have fun!" But to resident kids, a snowbank is an invitation--to climb, to dig, to chase. When the sun gets low, what you though was "white" is now various shades of blue and grey. With the rising or setting of the sun, everything takes on a otherworldly sheen.

And with clear skies comes cold. Sometimes bitter, biting cold. Without proper attire, you run a serious risk of injury due to frostbite. But this is easily defeated with layers. LOTS OF LAYERS. Then, with the cold comes a stillness you will seldom encounter. For me it's a beckoning. I love to bundle up and walk to the end of the driveway. Standing there in the middle of the road, the silence seems to take on dimension, like layers of existence. Your breath becomes loud. A distant owl hoot is clear and intriguing. If the temperature is falling quickly, you will even hear trees "pop" like a gunshot because of the expansion of moisture in their trunks.

Turkeys rooting on a fence rail bury their heads under their wings and tuck up their feet to escape the danger of frost.

Trees bow to the heavens under the burden of ice and snow.

The north shore of Lake Superior in winter.

Hoar frost on the top of the LP tank.

Annual Buck Parade

Every year about this time, often on foggy mornings like this, whitetail bucks will gather to size up each other, and perhaps get in a scrimmage or two to test their fortitude. I was lucky to catch this recent encounter. It didn't get too serious, but when the buck on the left started to gain the advantage, his opponent broke off and ran into the woods. His challenger followed after him, perhaps with the intent of emphasizing his superior jousting skills.

Lawn Denizens

A doe and twin fawns in the daybreak mist.

A male eastern blue bird "hawking" for insects.

A thirteen-stripe gopher harvesting tidbits.

Bearly Tollerable

I was working on my fireplace the other day, and just happen to look out the window and saw these two bears in the front yard heading straight for my bird feeder. After sticking my head out the door to warn them to "...stop where you are!" the cub quickly turned around and started to walk away. The mother, however, stopped and looked up at me, waiting to see what was going to happen next. The cub, realizing that Mom wasn't following, then returned to its mother. The cub was more nervous than its mother, who seemed fairly nonchalant about my presence. She looked at me in a stare-off, presumably to test my resolve in keeping the bird feeder off limits. There was little else I could do should she decide to take the feeder down, and I wasn't about to test HER resolve any further than raising my voice. Mother bears will defend their cubs aggressively, and considering her size, I wasn't about to get into a contest over rights to the feeder. I was willing to sacrifice it and and sunflower seeds, if necessary. Normally black bears want nothing to do with people. This sow, however, has obviously become habituated to people--but after a few steps more, I shouted at the top of my lungs, and the pair ran off.

Bird Bath Bash

All our birds are back from their snowbird locations, and many enjoy the bird bath out on the front lawn. Here are some shots of the bath, and just a few shots of just some of our local critter
residents.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

I crafted a little wire "throne" for a dominant hummer to rule from, and one immediately ascended. It was perfectly placed to allow a good view of the nearby feeder. This dominant male lets only his preferred females feed there, aggressively defending it against any would-be usurpers. Males will mate with many females in the course of a breeding season, and any females who wish to feed there must curry favor, or else be banned from approaching.

Ruby-Throat Hummingbird

I have several types of feeders which attract different birds. This Red Headed Woodpecker is a trophy. Sightings this far north are rare, though their range seems to be creeping further north.

Red Headed Woodpecker

American Goldfinches (yellow), Purple Finch, (red) and a female Rose Breasted Grosbeak all getting along nicely on a tray loaded with black-oil sunflower seeds.

Red-Winged Blackbird

White Tail Deer

American Coopers Hawk

This gaggle of deer are more than happy to avail themselves of a cool drink!

Whitetail are matriarchal, and multiple generations of does will remain together. Yearling bucks are driven away by their mother within a year or two, though I have seen even older bucks still traveling with their mother and younger siblings, as is evident below: