Still 17 Turkeys

There are still 17 turkeys coming to our feeder daily, sometimes 2x/day. Guess they made it through this turkey season.

Primitive Santa

My latest project -- a primitive santa. Got the pattern from the latest Create & Decorate mag. I used fleece from my friend's goats for the santa's mustache and beard.

Wildlife "Sightings"

We found a dead deer on one of the back (gravel) roads here; it probably was hit out on the main road and made it a little ways before it died. We put it out back with our Wildview Camera on it and got some awesome pictures of a bobcat and two foxes eating on it! We got 179 pictures! (see photos; the date on the camera is incorrect) We thought we'd get coyote too but we didn't. We got coyote on the camera last year when we set it out, no bait. Really neat all of the wildlife we have around here.

Kathy & Mike, our new neighbors, were back over Thanksgiving and Mike looked out in the middle of the night and saw a coyote getting into a bag of garbage they had set out, meaning to take to the dump.

New "Neighbors"

Where we live we don't have "next door" neighbors because we are back in the sticks and secluded. But we have neighbors down the road, and new ones. We met them the other day. They bought the old house at the corner of our road and another. It'll need a lot of repair/renovation, but the man had his own home renovation company so they should be able to do okay. When they arrived at their new home, they discovered that someone had removed all of the copper wire and copper pipes from their house! So my husband gave them some electrical wire so they could at least have one or two outlets. They returned to where they now live - Florida - but are going to come back up here over Thanksgiving.

Ladybugs

We are now experiencing our annual ladybug infestation. Not as bad as it was three years ago, but still a nuisance. We have the back door sealed up with tape and rags sprayed with bug spray because they come in there the most, being a sunnier location. These ladybugs are the Asian ones, brought here from Asia and having no natural predator, except that I did read there is some kind of wasp that east them. They like warm, light-colored spots. They come out of the woods at this time of year to hibernate. If you kill one, it'll stain and stink. They also pinch (not bite). These are the ladybug facts I've learned since we moved her. Putting a new, tighter, roof on our house has helped dramatically at keeping them out. They will be active until it gets cold and stays cold for the winter.

Holiday Crafts

Last year I made everyone in my family - parents, sister, brother, nieces - a Christmas craft of some sort. I hope to be able to do it this year. I did make these cute snowmen. Got the pattern from BH&G Holiday Crafts magazine. Will give one away.

Blue Tongue Disease

Something called Blue Tongue disease is killing the deer in our area. The local farmer is finding lots of dead deer around. Not good. We love to watch the deer (not hunt them).

The sound of gunfire

I hear the sound of gunfire in the distance. The first day of turkey season, I try not to think that one of the 17 turkeys that come to our feeder daily may have fallen victim.