Month: January 2018

It’s another cold and windy day here in the Hollow. There was a dusting of dry snow overnight and a few flurries this morning. Now the sun keeps peeking out, and I expect to walk later.

The deer came early. I noticed one of the young bucks (born last year) in the meadow and then a doe and her late-season fawn who tried to run him off. (This doe and fawn come by many mornings and are not part of the main herd; they both usually run into the woods when I approach.) I threw a few apples down for them and before I even got back inside, four or five more deer showed up. I went to get more apples, and suddenly the whole herd was waiting! (Of course, I took down deer and corn for all 14 of them, but it was too cold to stop and take photos.)

About the apples—the apple growers here sell “deer” apples (also called “horse” apples). These apples are too small, too old, and/or too damaged for most people to buy. They are sold by the box or large bag for a bargain price. Once home, I pick out the rotten ones and use them first. (You know what they say about one bad apple!) I store them in the basement since I don’t have a root cellar.

At first (and before I started feeding corn), I would throw whole apples down into the meadow, but then I noticed that it was hard for the fawns to bite the apples and that the subordinate deer sometimes missed out. Now I quarter the apples and spread the pieces, often first feeding any deer who approach or are waiting for me. I sometimes toss the pieces close by to get the deer to approach. (I had one a few years ago that would eat from my hand.)

I sometimes see deer on my rambles. (I’m sure they see me more often.) They usually run, but sometimes they stop when they recognize me. I think they are wondering if I have brought apples.) Once in a while what I think is a deer is only a fallen tree! 🙂

This is a fallen tree!

The sun is out, and I think I head out soon to find out what I’ll see when I ramble today!

Nature is hard, and I am soft-hearted. My friends in Tuscaloosa called my house the Orange Street Animal Mission; they knew that I would feed any cat that showed up (and eventually adopt many of them). I’m happy that no stray cats have shown up at my house here, but there are plenty of other animals around. I feed birds (and, indirectly,  squirrels), as well as the deer you often see in this blog and the possums, raccoons, and other critters that scrounge for the leftovers in the dark (or sometimes in the late afternoon).

Much of the terrain in French Broad Hollow is steep, and the slopes and ravines are full of fallen trees, vines, etc.

Deer are generally sure-footed on these slopes, thanks to their hooves and strong legs. But those legs are slender, and sometimes when a deer slips in the mud and/or snow, something goes wrong. An injured doe that is able to get to the meadow, where they know eating doesn’t expend a lot of energy, will likely be driven away from the food by a dominant doe. When I see this, I feed the injured doe separately and keep the others away.

I recognize many of the individual deer and their families, and it is hard for me when one of them is injured. When I saw the first injured doe (Gimpy One) several years ago, I thought she might die in the meadow that summer day. Whatever caused her leg problem also caused her udder to drop, too, but she raised her two fawns from that year and another set of twins the next year. She disappeared later that fall.

Gimpy One could still put weight on her injured leg, but the others I have seen seemingly have not been able to do so. And unfortunately there have been several others over the years; sometimes I see them only once, but others come for several days or weeks. I feed them closer to the house, where I can watch. The latest one showed up last week and came regularly for several days, but I haven’t seen here since earlier this week.

I am lucky to be so close to nature, but sometimes nature is hard.

I bundled up and went out for a quick walk after my last post and then went for a longer one the next day. It hadn’t been above freezing, so it was a snowy ramble. I was interested to see what other critters had been out walking.

Turkey tracks

Rabbit tracks

Bobcat(?) tracks

I saw deer tracks, but they are so familiar that I didn’t think to take a photo. Here are the deer with lots of tracks.

There were tracks around my house, too, but I knew who made them. 🙂

Jet

Julia

Yesterday I marched instead of rambling. (Photo credit to WLOS staff)

It warmed to the high 50s yesterday and 60 today, so the snow is almost all gone.  After being cooped up, I think many folks have been out enjoying the weather. A few bicycle riders passed by when I was at the river today.

Tomorrow is a work day for my volunteer job, but I hope to get out for an early ramble and post about it later this week.

Don’t look for snow in this photo from yesterday! We have 3-4″ now, however, and the deer came early. They came down through what I call my “orchard” (2 apple trees and a few small blueberry bushes) down to the meadow, and I threw some apples down.

More showed up, so I took corn down to the feeding area. (I hope this link works! If it does, I’ll be including more videos in the future.)
Deer eating in snow

The snow stopped earlier, and the sun keeps teasing the solar panels that provide hot water for the radiant floor, but the blinds will stay closed for now. Today’s forecast calls for a high in the low 20s and some wind, but if the sun comes out and stays for a while, I’ll try to get out later. If I do, the view in the last photo  won’t look like this one.

Following the rain, the river is up again. Friday it was almost 60, then dropped to near 20 by Saturday morning. The high Saturday was about 25, and I passed on the ramble. I did, of course, feed the deer, and this is what it looked like.

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Today was still cold, but sunny. There were some interesting ice formations in the branch.

Vee was waiting for me yesterday, and I’m sure she’ll show up as soon as I head down, which I’ll do now.

Daytime temperatures have been in the 50s the last several days, and it has stayed above freezing, so the ice is mostly gone from this part of the river. Today’s rain and some errands in town kept me from a regular walk, and I decided I could use a rest anyhow. 🙂

The deer know when I’m bringing food (which will be right after I post this). Sometimes they wait for me

and sometimes they aren’t so patient.

I can usually see them before they come down, but they blend in well with the woods.

Tomorrow’s forecast calls for more rain and a high near 60, then dropping below freezing overnight. Saturday may stay below freezing (again!) with a chance of snow. Regardless, I plan to be out rambling and will let you know how it goes.

Today’s forecast called for a “wintry mix” to arrive about 9 AM, leading to icy road conditions, and school was cancelled. No school = no volunteer job, so I headed out about 9 to beat the predicted weather. (Note: It’s 2 PM and still no precipitation.) Even with the temperature in the high 20s and no sun, it was a great ramble in the Hollow!

After walking down to the river (above) and noticing the culvert at the highway, I headed back up. The branch has started to thaw in some places but is still frozen solid near my house.

One of the controversial issues in Asheville is the recent construction of high-rise hotel and condominium buildings , and today I recognized that we already have several in the Hollow—and one appears to have an elevator shaft! 🙂

This one has an elevator shaft!

Here are a couple at ground-level…

and one that is in bad shape near the meadow.

I’m not sure how many of these are inhabited—I think a few may be short-term rentals (another issue in Asheville)—but if I see any of the inhabitants, I’ll try to share a photo with you on another ramble.

It warmed to 33 today, after highs in the 20s. I walked in the afternoons, and the sun kept me from getting too cold—although when the wind blew, I could feel the cold squeezing through every hole in the layers of clothes I was wearing! It’s been interesting to see how the amount of ice on the river has increased. (It’s totally frozen over in some places upstream.) The branch that parallels our road has been frozen solid in many places, and I plan to investigate what’s going on in this culvert once the ice melts.

The deer come several times a day, and I throw apples from the hill when I’m not dressed for walking down to the meadow. Of course, I also take apples and corn two or three times a day in this weather. Sometimes I see them on my ramble, and they are waiting when I get back home.

I take water down, too. You can see the “tower” of ice I have emptied from the water pan over the last few days (that white thing). Tonight’s forecast is for a low of 24 and a “wintry mix” in the morning; I am curious to see what that will do to the “tower.” (The deer were staring when I filled the bird feeder after posting, so I took them a little more corn and got a photo of the “tower.”)

As I noted in a previous post, I take hot water and melt the ice in the birdbaths. The birds (and squirrels) appreciate this, and I see quite a few chickadees, titmice, cardinals, and mourning doves at the water, as well as a few birds. Yesterday there was a pileated woodpecker in the nearby trees, and visitors to the suet included a red-bellied woodpecker , downy woodpeckers, a yellow-bellied sapsucker, and others. I let the birds eat and drink and don’t have photos, but I was really tempted to try today when I looked out and saw the birdbath covered by bluebirds! They looked like bright blue lights as the flew around in the surrounding trees and undergrowth. And then, after the bluebirds left, came cedar waxwings! It was quite a day for birdwatching out the window!

I doubt I’ll get in a ramble tomorrow, but I’ll be back on the trail again soon.

I don’t like to let the cold keep me from walking, but Mother Nature has been challenging so far this year. I had a New Year’s Day ramble and went again the next day, but the last two photos above (yesterday and today) were taken on my way out in the car. Since it has gotten colder, I have been walking more in the early afternoon, when it is usually a little warmer. The last two days have been cloudy and windy, and it never really warmed at all.

The cold keeps me indoors more, but I go outside several times a day to put hot water in the bird baths. And, of course, I take apples and corn down to the deer whenever I see them.

I know the weather here is mild compared to what some of you are experiencing, so I am not complaining. My house is warm (especially when the sun is shining) and I don’t have to get out to go to work. (I love retirement!) Tomorrow’s forecast calls for a sunny day with some wind and a high around 25; I hope to ramble a bit and see what’s new in the Hollow. I’ll let you know if I discover anything exciting!

Happy New Year! The first ramble of 2018 was a brisk one, with the temperature around 20 degrees and some wind. It wasn’t too bad in the sun or when the wind was still, but the wind in the shade had me grateful that I had worn layers!

When the temperatures are this cold, I take food down for the deer several times a day (pretty much whenever I see deer in the meadow). It was too cold this morning to take out my phone for photos, but here are some from recent weeks (since I’ve not posted for quite a while). This little one (Little Ellie) is one of the few I can identify by sight and/or behavior.

I am not planning to post for all of the days I’ve missed, but here are a few of the December highlights, first of the river

and then of the field across the ridge.

I expect to post on a more regular basis, especially with this winter weather.