Thursday, September 27, 2012

Rural Happenings at Round The Bend

One day when leaving the grocery store I looked at the sky and thought how the clouds looked like a watercolor painting. It made for a gorgeous fall day.
Just a few days later I glanced out my dining room window and saw the quarter moon. Whenever I see a quarter moon I can't help humming or singing an old Jennifer Warnes song:

"Sun goes down on the silky day
Quarter moon walking through the Milky Way...
               ..........
It's the right time of the night
The stars are waking above
It's the right time of the night.... "
   
For Friday's Fences last week some of you will remember a similar shot of this fence with all the lush yellow flowers. The flowers lined the fence for a good distance and were a bright cheery spot along our rural road.
Well, this is how the fence line looks currently. The farmer sprayed the fence line and it's all browned out now except for some strong-willed vines. (Sorry, you have to look hard for the lines of the fence.)
 Still, the red leaves in the evening light are delightful.
We're seeing the deer on a daily basis now in the yard and surrounding field. They make a regular path each day from one oak tree to another eating the fallen acorns. This is the last of the fawns to have any spots. I took these just a few days ago but noticed last evening the spots on the back are fading fast. All the other new fawns have already taken on their darker winter coat.
 A closeup outside my sun room window of the acorn munching!
 A small buck watching me in my window.
An even smaller and younger buck who still has velvet on his horns. Velvet provides nutrition and growth to deer antlers. This special tissue is a type of skin, loaded with blood vessels and nerves, that regenerates every year. Because deer shed their antlers annually, they need dense and rapid growth of their antlers to occur every year. By fall, antlers are fully grown and the bone cells die. Velvet dries up and falls off.

This little squirrel is beginning to show up on a daily basis as well.  The fall stealing of the walnuts has started. Yesterday I watched this little one pull that walnut from the limb and sit there and strip the shell away enjoying every morsel. Today he was grabbing them and running away with them. No doubt he was storing them away somewhere for the winter.
Also linking to Rural Thursday, Skywatch, and Friday's Fences.

48 comments:

Linda said...

Some beautiful shots to herald the arrival of fall! The deer are so pretty posing for you...hopefully that cheeky little squirrel will leave some walnuts for you (if you want them, that is...thy are a lot of work!)...

Colin said...

Great photos from your area.
I note the adjoining farmer got rid of those yellow flowers, well I am sure there is a reason. With your winter coming on, those tangled plants with the snow may have caused the fence to topple.
The deer photos are fantastic, but again they cause some havoc, still they are magnificent creatures and as for the last photo of that beautiful squirrel, they may cause havoc but the way they gather their supplies for the winter for hibernation is bloody amazing. Incredible little "critters" (using the US lingo).
Great post Carletta with so much information.
Cheers
Colin (Brisbane.Australia)
Weather report: Still no rain since the end of July. June/July rain didn't stop. Now all the countryside is going brown. Still plenty of fodder for the livestock, but the fear of bushfires is becoming very scary. An arsonist dream. Oh how I detest such creatures.

Danielle said...

Wow...it must be just awesome to be able to watch all this wonderful activity from your window. I really enjoyed the photos!

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Cool shots of the deer- I can't ever catch them...sorta like my quest to snap a hummingbird this summer- I'm just not fast enough.

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

What a pretty young buck. Great shots!

Vores have said...

Nice pictures you show-really like the images with "deer" :)
Hanne Bente

Tanya Breese said...

what great photos!!

Hootin Anni said...

beautiful images.

I'm not sure I'm on the right blog post since there is no reference to the themesong link. But, I really, REALLY enjoyed the images of Autumn!!!

EG CameraGirl said...

There's so much to see and enjoy outside your windows!

carol l mckenna said...

Fantastic photography of nature's beautiful animals and land ~ You are blessed ~ (A Creative Harbor)

TexWisGirl said...

loved this entire post from the start to the finish. the deer are beautiful. the colors in the fields - yellow and red - are beautiful. :)

Nancy said...

Great to see some healthy deer on your site, Carletta. Beautiful. And I hope the little squirrel is not trying to tell us something about how harsh this winter will be. :)

Pat said...

Such lovely fall photos. Love the deer in their new antlers.

Jan n Jer said...

Great shots of nature n wildlife. Love those deer!

Buttons Thoughts said...

What an incredible view you have from your window. Great shots. B

Karen said...

Marvellous shots! How wonderful to have deer in your yard.

Lighthousegal said...

Wow, what an amazing post. Your photos of all the critters are wonderful. Love how you were able to capture the deer close up and in their routine of acorn munching.
The shots of the fence line are great too. I've always liked photographing the same scene as the seasons change. Those red leaves do stand out.
The sky and moon shots are lovely also and I have always loved that song. It is so pretty, I remember a few dances to that one in my youth.

DawnTreader said...

The deer are beautiful, the squirrel cute and the red leaves very eye-catching.

Maude Lynn said...

These are gorgeous!

Rose said...

I feel like I have just had a nice visit at your place, Carletta. I really enjoyed this post.

Hootin Anni said...

Oh, I am so glad you stopped by today to leave a comment on my themesong post, 'cause I would've missed this addition. How on earth did you manage to capture such a gorgeous Moon Shot like that?!!! Amazing.

Carver said...

Wonderful sky shots and I also love seeing the beautiful deer.

Sylvia K said...

Beautiful skies, Carletta, and your moon shot is awesome!! Such lovely deer, no such thing as a bad shot of them that's for sure! Wonderful post for the day!! Have a great weekend!

Unknown said...

Great sequence Carletta!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Light and Voices said...

I adore the shot of one deer facing right and the other deer facing left. Great composition.
Joyce M

eileeninmd said...

Carletta, lovely sky captures. And the deer are so cute. the spotted fawn and I love the shots of the buck. Awesome photos, have a great day!

A Creative Grace said...

These are beautiful Carletta, I love the Deer, they are such gentle creatures :)

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

What a pretty Fall it is there (except maybe for the sprayed weeds, but the red vine is so valiant)....Bill was just saying today that he saw a very small buck, with antlers....

Red said...

Enjoyed your wildlife tour.
Now the sprayed flowers , were they weeds? He sure made a mess of them.

Liam said...

I love the picture with the fawn and the adult. So cute! :)

Kateri said...

Lovely photos, all of them! Love the deer!

Indrani said...

Great series of captures.

Chubskulit Rose said...

Such delightful photos! I love the shot with red leaves!

Lmkazmierczak said...

Great shots! Love the before and after ones♫

Carletta said...

LMKAZMIERCZAK,
THANKS SO MUCH FOR STOPPING BY!
I WOULD LOVE TO RETURN YOUR COMMENT BUT CLICKING ON YOUR LINK ONLY TAKES ME TO A 'NO BLOGGER PROFILE AVAILABLE' PAGE WITHOUT A LINK TO A BLOG.
YOUR VISIT IS APPRECIATED

Elizabeth Edwards said...

i love the fence yellow flowered shot. so gorgeous!! this is a great post. lots of fun views. (:

Laura said...

beautiful compilation of images!

Ramona said...

Fantastic photos. The deer are a very handsome animal, and the squirrels are too cute!
The fences are great, especially the shot with the few red leaves.

Becky said...

My goodness, this is a great post. All your pictures are wonderful. Love the deer! We used to have them in our back yard too, but the neighbors now have one of their 6 dogs tied out back, so no more wildlife.It makes me sad :~(
Have a wonderful weekend Carletta.

Anonymous said...

The changing of the season is happening a lil earlier this year, as all season have in 2012... You've captured some absolutely gorgeous shots, Carletta & thanks for the song, I just added it to one of my playlists.

Look at the ears on that first buck... LOVE the mama & baby shot =)

Ebie said...

I love the saturation of the white clouds! Autumn has arrived and I could feel the crisp air!

Anonymous said...

What delightful shots.

Liz said...

Beautiful shots! Happy sky watching.

Skywatch

kayerj said...

I love looking at the world from your window :)

Dianne said...

every photo is a joy
I love the moon
the red on the fence is beautiful
and the deer are magnificent

Robin said...

So many lovely colors on your blog today, and those deer are just gorgeous!

Grandma Barb's This and That said...

These are all great shots, Carletta. Beautiful sky, fence, and deer. Love that little fawn! How lucky you are to seem them everyday.

Elaine said...

Oh what beautiful photographs. They really have made a beautiful start to my day. The deer and the squirrel are simply beautiful.